Fact Sheet: "Carbon monoxide is extremely hazardous for personnel because it is PROPOSED BILL TO END EUTHANASIA BY CARBON MONOXIDE GAS IN TEXAS ANIMAL SHELTERS highly toxic and difficult to detect." -- American Veterinary Medical Association Executive Summary The current Texas Humane Euthanasia Act mandates that one of only two methods be used to euthanize shelter animals: (1) sodium pentobarbital injection, also referred to as EUTHANASIA BY INJECTION (EBI); or (2) commercially compressed carbon monoxide gas. The 2013 proposed bill would limit the method to only EBI. % More Humane Than Gas: EBI takes effect faster, acts more reliably and causes less pain and trauma than gas. % Safer For Workers: Carbon monoxide is colorless, tasteless, odorless and highly explosive and poses a threat to the health and safety of shelter workers. % Less Expensive To Administer: The per-animal cost is less than the cost of gas. % Viable For Rural Areas: For shelters with limited staff, EBI can be administered by one person. % Professionally Recommended: All leading veterinary medical associations, animal control associations and humane organizations in the United States recommend EBI. Background In 2003 the Texas Humane Legislation Network (THLN) helped pass the state's Humane Euthanasia Act. Prior to this Act, Texas shelters were killing dogs and cats by drowning, shooting, clubbing, strangling and by carbon monoxide poisoning from truck and car exhaust systems hooked up to makeshift plywood boxes. % The law currently mandates that one of only two methods be used: EBI using sodium pentobarbital, or commercially compressed carbon monoxide gas. % The law requires euthanasia training for euthanasia technicians. % The law does not require gas chambers to be commercially built and therefore creates a serious weakness to the law's effectiveness. In 2012, THLN contacted all 1,200 plus Texas cities and found that a change in the law to end gas chamber euthanasia would not cause hardship to the large majority of operations. Only 32 Texas shelter facilities continue to utilize the outdated and inhumane carbon monoxide method of euthanasia. THLN also found that these facilities do not all exist in rural areas with their often-cited small staffs. The number also includes cities with larger populations, such as Greenville, Texas, with a population of over 25,000. Purpose of the Proposed Bill The bill would eliminate euthanasia of shelter animals by carbon monoxide and require EBI as the only form of euthanasia allowed in Texas. Beyond the humane euthanasia of animals, the bill also is designed to protect shelter workers from exposure to dangerous working conditions that stem from the use of carbon monoxide. EBI: Safer for Animal Shelter Workers If shelter employees continue to euthanize animals in gas chambers, their health remains at risk. Since carbon monoxide is colorless, tasteless, odorless and highly explosive, a shelter's gas chamber must be continually checked and maintained to ensure there are no leaks, cracks or failing seals in the structure. % There have been nationally documented instances of explosions, shelter personnel asphyxiations and severe injuries as a result of gas chamber malfunctions. % There have been no documented reports of any shelter worker being killed from an accidental injection of sodium pentobarbital. Due to both actual incidents and the potential for serious workplace injuries, 18 states have banned euthanasia by use of gas chambers. Because Texas does not require mandatory inspections of shelter gas chambers, the risk to personnel is greater than elsewhere. Former Texas shelter employees have openly acknowledged that shelters often turned off the carbon monoxide monitors. EBI: More Cost-Effective Than Gas In 2007, a study performed by the American Humane Association used data from an animal sheltering organization in North Carolina to compare the costs associated with euthanasia by EBI and by gas. % The study revealed that the cost to properly use carbon monoxide gas ranges between $2.77 and $4.98 per animal depending on the number of operators and whether tranquilization is utilized. % The cost to use EBI was only $2.29 per animal. EBI: A Viable Practice In Rural Texas The idea that rural Texas areas must rely on gas chambers to euthanize their shelter animals is antiquated. % Other states that have banned carbon monoxide euthanasia, employ contract veterinarians for their rural locales. % Despite claims to the contrary, EBI can be administered by one shelter employee if necessary. Regardless of the number of shelter workers, it is dangerous to put aggressive and/or feral animals into a gas chamber. It is much safer to sedate and then euthanize an aggressive animal by injection than to drag it into a gas chamber while it is struggling or frantically trying to escape. EBI: The Most Humane Euthanasia EBI is clearly the most humane method to euthanize shelter animals. A gas chamber can take up to 30 minutes to end an animal's life. EBI causes loss of consciousness within three to five seconds and clinical death within two to five minutes. % In a gas chamber, animals lose consciousness and brain function only after their vital organs shut down, causing prolonged suffering and distress. % With EBI, animals lose consciousness and brain function before their vital organs shut down. There are documented cases in which animals did not die in the gas chamber. For animals that are old, young, diseased or injured, carbon monoxide often does not enter the bloodstream effectively, prolonging trauma and stress for the animals. EBI: Advocated by Animal Euthanasia Experts EBI is universally accepted by all national veterinary and humane organizations as the most humane method to euthanize shelter animals including: % % % % The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) The Association of Shelter Veterinarians The National Animal Control Association The Texas Veterinary Medical Association % % % % The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) The American Humane Association The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) The Texas Animal Control Association Texas Humane Legislation Network (THLN) 1-800-548-6263 % www.thln.org.