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Judge Orders Irvin to Enforce Georgia Animal Gas Chamber Law
A Superior Court Judge has ordered an immediate end to the inhumane practice of euthanizing dogs in Carbon Monoxide gas chambers that is still taking place in some Georgia animal shelters.
A lawsuit this month alleged that the practice was still going on in spite of a 1990 law banning the gassing of shelter animals and with the full knowledge of Georgia's Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin.
Irvin later publicly passed the buck on the entire issue, claiming in an interview that his office was powerless to stop the gassing of animals although many believed it was not only within his power but his duty by law to do so.
On Friday, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Cynthia D. Wright agreed that Irvin was duty-bound to enforce the law against gassing shelter animals in gas chambers.
‘‘We have an elected official, not a judge, who has clearly been told by the General Assembly, ’This is what needs to happen,’ and has ignored what the General Assembly has said,’’ Wright said in her ruling, which came after four hours of testimony.
The law is limited in scope, and the judge ruled that the limits to the law still stand.
Fulton County Superior Judge Cynthia Wright's injunction includes exceptions outlined in Georgia law. They apply in counties with fewer than 25,000 people and in cases where an animal poses an extreme danger. Also exempted are counties that were already using a gas chamber when the law was passed in 1990.
Strangely, it seems that Irvin's department is so in love with the idea of gassing dogs in carbon monoxide chambers that they may appeal the decision.
A department spokesman said the agency had not decided whether to appeal.
Tags: Dog Euthanasia, Dog Shelters, Georgia, GA
File Under: Animal Law
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This injunction will NOT have the anticipated effect the plantiffs are expecting. Many of the rural shelters will simply close their doors and stop operations rather than expose the Animal Control Officers to the heartbreak of holding a pet and hearing the purr or feeling the gentle lick on their face while administering a lethal injection. Then these hard-working people will hold that pet until the end, and be forced to watch the life slip away and feel the heart stop beating as the drugs flow through the animal's veins - an animal whose only crime is to be born in the South, where irresponsible pet owners are more common than fleas. When these shelters close, and the unwanted pets are left to wander, or the "owner" faced with an unwanted litter "takes matters into their own hands," this state will have taken a huge step backwards. I wonder why Jennifer Robinson's dog found himself injured in Clayton County Animal Shelter - shouldn't a "former Humane Society worker" know better? These plantiffs need to invest the money they are wasting on this case with an effort to confront the TRUE CAUSE of the staggering number of unwanted pets throughout the Southeast - a lack of education of pet owners and true resistance to mandatory spay/neuter laws.
reply to this comment- this comment inspired Frank — #2
March 29, 2007, 04:59:38 PMinspired by KoolKat — #1 While I appreciate your passion on the topic and your having taken the time to post a comment, I have to say I think you're wrong about the injunction (and about mandatory spay/neuter laws).
If Animal Control Officers cannot handle euthanizing animals in a humane way, then they should not be Animal Control Officers. Deference in the situation should be given to the ANIMAL who, after all, is the one who IS DYING HERE.
Being marched en-masse into a hot metal container and gassed is a horrible, horrible death. It is unthinkable. That's why the law was passed in the first place. Whether or not you agree with the law itself, the law is law.
There are too many strays and too many irresponsible pet owners. You are correct in that. That, however, is another topic. This topic is about following the law and giving pets some dignity and comfort in their final moments.
reply to this comment March 29, 2007, 06:07:28 PMThe fact of the matter is simple: There are too many homeless pets and not enough caring households that will take in a pet and provide proper care. Even if every household in Georgia took in ten (10) of the abandoned animals currently in shelters, the shelters would be full again in a matter of days. In the present situation, the euthanasia rates will be the same regardless of the means. It may be difficult for a layperson to accept, but the overwhelming majority of Animal Control officers take the job beacuse they care about animals, not beacuse they love killing them. This inflexible stance on methods is taking an already painful job and making it that much more difficult, and that means that the people who feel compelled to take care of the unwanted have that much more of a stressful position. Don't get me wrong - performing euthanasia is horrible - but it is necessary under the current ignorant norms in place in this part of the world. Euthanasia WILL BE performed en masse until the pet poulation is curbed. You are right about your statement "... ANIMAL ... is the one who IS DYING HERE," and I assert that dying in an animal shelter under a method approved by the American Verterinary Medical Association (AVMA) is preferential to being hit by a car, starving to death, mauled by another animal, poisoned, riddled with parasites, diseased, etc., which will be these ANIMALs's fates on the streets. That sounds much more undignified and uncomfortable to me. In fact, I would also like to point out that most deaths are "horrible, horrible" ways to go; don't for a minute think that the animal doesn't feel the prick of the needle or the toxic "medicine" start to do its work. Just beacuse the euthanasia solution comes from a veterinary medical supply company doesn't automatically make it painless or stress-free.
reply to this comment May 01, 2007, 03:48:37 PMI hope that you wouldn't argue with me when I say that I would love to see all animal shelters close - beacuse the work is done and the animal population is at a manageable level. At that time, the debate over the methods of euthanasia would be moot, and who would not prefer that? This is the crux of the issue - mandatory spay/neuter LAWS and public education would help solve the overpopulation issue overall and would be a better use of money than a lawsuit that simply places a bandaid on a skull fracture.
It is more than just neuter and spay. We need to stop people thinking of dogs and cats as disposable. Don't get that puppy or kitten in the first place. Many people that have dogs or cats can barely feed themselves much less a dog or cat. As a society we view animals as throw aways and out of sight out of mind. That is why the animal control offices are located in such out of the way locations. The unwanted dogs and cats are viewed as so much trash. The people are the problem and I'm not sure what to do about that. How do we teach people to be responsible? To respect the planet? I wish I knew.
reply to this comment September 17, 2007, 10:34:17 PMI realize this was written months ago, but I gotta say I TOTALLY agree with Frank. I am a former resident of Georgia, now living in Indiana, and just a month ago adopted a wonderful dog imported from one of these Georgia gassing facilities. She was transported north in a mass-exodus along with about 22 other dogs to escape the ignorant, backward-thinking state of Georgia... a practice that's happening nearly every weekend now. Dozens of volunteers feel so strongly about the inhumanity of these shelters that they are giving their time and travel money to relocate these animals. What is this blantant disregard for the value of life saying about the leadership of Georgia? It certainly isn't helping to break down any stereotypes people might have about the South.
reply to this comment December 03, 2007, 04:40:13 PM