NC Gas Chamber Ban Call-In day

Karen, I emailed just now.  Don't know how much weight and out-of-stater carries, but it's one more voice for animals at any rate.

Gassing is horrific and as they say, not efficient. However, is there something in the bill to ensure access to veterinary oversight? This is the only reason I hesitate from wholesale support of these types of bills. I have a friend who is a vet, who used to be an AC officer. She has told me about counties that banned gas, but then there weren't vets who had the time or the desire to do the euths. If you think gas is bad, the alternatives are so outrageous that I hardly dare mention it - hanging, bleeding, bludgeoning, strangling, drowning, oral poison - the ones that simply "catch up" their overflow by shooting seem kind by comparison.

Again, I'm not arguing with the absolute FACT that gas needs to go ASAP. But I'd only be in support of a bill that provided some incentive to the local vets to be involved - and I'm a little nervous about this, in this year of severe budget cuts. When the schools and colleges are being asked to cut millions of dollars from their budgets, it's going to be hard to pass something that proposes new spending for humane purposes.  

 Tina thank you very much - I am sure that everything helps!

Becca thanks (I think, sometimes ignorance is bliss) for the additional information - this is all I could find on the net

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1. Does Davie's Law require additional certification and/or training for shelter workers?  No. 

• Legislation passed in 2005 requires personnel who euthanize shelter animals to be certified, no matter what the method, with oversight from the NC Dept of Ag. 
• 02 NCAC 52J .0210  (c) ...If euthanasia is performed at a facility, a list of personnel approved to perform euthanasia shall be maintained on a Letter of Euthanasia Certification form and kept on file at the facility.

Current employees are already certified for the method used, and certification forms are on file with NCDA&CS.

2. How can shelters receive drug licenses?  

• Most shelters have already received drug registration through the NCDHHS Drug Control Unit and DEA, or contracted euthanasia to a veterinarian. 
• New rules from the NCDA&CS also require that certain animals not be euthanized by gas chamber, so injection has to be used anyway.  Dr. Lee Hunter says, "The euthanasia of animals that cannot be done by Carbon Monoxide (CO) will have to be done by another method - either bringing in a DVM, taking them out to a DVM or working with a DVM to obtain a site license."     

3. How does cost of injection and gas compare? 

• A 2009 cost study from national Animal Care and Control Consultant Doug Fakkema shows that injection costs much less, based on figures from NC shelters. In this study, EBI was found to cost $2.29/animal vs. as much as $4.98/animal using the gas chamber (when done correctly using two shelter attendants). Gas was found to cost about $2.77/animal when done using one shelter attendant and without giving animals a tranquilizer as recommended by industry standards.  The bottom line is that Euthanasia by Injection is less expensive than the gas chamber to use in every scenario by about .50/animal.

• Gas chambers also require expensive equipment and maintenance. Injection does not.  Commercial chambers cost $12,000 - $20,000, and even those types have been shown to leak or malfunction.  

4. Why should gas chambers be removed?

• They are extremely dangerous to employees. 
• Many counties report having no Hazard Communication Program, a Federal requirement to protect workers using hazardous materials such as carbon monoxide.  
• Three state agencies and local fire marshals have documented leaks or malfunctions with gas chambers, exposing workers to high levels of carbon monoxide. 
• Explosions have occurred with gas chambers at 3 NC shelters. The owner of a gas chamber company publicly admitted that exhaust fans for his gas chambers were not explosion proof.
• Many chambers do not have gauges to monitor CO percentages, making it impossible to tell if the gas will reach a lethal level or merely make animals unconscious.
• Removing the gas chambers can eliminate the risks of costly lawsuits and workers compensation claims. 
• Personal injury attorneys have shown interest in taking cases against counties, cities, or state to defend injured workers who have not been fully educated or protected.

5. Will it cost anything to remove gas chambers?

• Not necessarily. Gas chambers at Orange, Burke, Franklin, Wake and Caswell counties were simply removed by employees. Sheriff John McDevitt of Burke County used a sledgehammer. 
• "No actual hard costs...We just scheduled the removal of the equipment with our internal maintenance staff, and they scheduled the pick and disposal - just like scheduling a boiler replacement job, air-conditioning unit replacement, chiller replacement job - this time they just came and removed a CO chamber while they go throughout the County to remove other stuff."  Tommy Esqeuda, Director, Environmental Services Director, Wake County (removal of the gas chamber in 2008)

5. Does H6 apply to animals other than dogs and cats? 

• No.  The definition of "animal" under 19a-23 only covers dogs and cats.  Other animals are covered under NC cruelty law.   

6. How do most shelters euthanize feral animals? 

• By injection. These animals can be sedated while still in traps or kennels, in many cases without touching the animal. 
• It can be very dangerous to wrangle a conscious, aggressive animal into a gas chamber. At the Vance County shelter, forcing an aggressive dog into the chamber reportedly caused a gas cylinder to explode. 

According to shelter managers and employees, feral and aggressive animals are a small percentage of intake.  

7.  What will it cost for counties to switch? 

• Almost all county shelters are already set up to use injection for some (if not all) animals. For them there is no changeover cost.  
• The approximately 8 shelters that use only gas will need to set up for injection for certain animals because of the new rules developed by NCDA&CS. There should be no setup cost associated with Davie’s Law.    

8.  How will enacting Davie's Law save money for counties over time? 

• The bill can eliminate the risk of lawsuits and workers compensation claims for employees exposed to carbon monoxide, saving money for counties and state
• No more expensive inspections of gas chambers
• No more maintenance for equipment
• No double-training for 2 methods
• Cost of injection is typically less
• Shelters using EBI report less employee turnover
  

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I also found something from Buncombe county that looks to be their contract to dismantle the gas chamber - states on that that 32 counties are still using gas chambers

 The governor's voicemail box is full LOL and here is the bill's page

 What I would encourage people to do is point out the importance of removing these unnecessarily hazardous "tools" from the table, and MAKE SURE that there's some kind of oversight or followup to ensure that the necessary connections are made with local vets.

A letter is better for that kind of communication.

Gas chambers at Orange, Burke, Franklin, Wake and Caswell counties were simply removed by employees. Sheriff John McDevitt of Burke County used a sledgehammer.

Wouldn't you like to have that job on "NC Gas Chamber Offline Day"? The press could be invited and at the same time across the state animal lovers could have the privilege of wielding the hammer. Maybe for a donation. What a great promo for shelter dogs and adoption that would be. 

 I sent an e-mail!!  I hope and pray that it helps.