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You are here: Home>>>Gas Chambers>>>Factors
Several things have contributed to the reduction in the number of places using gas chambers to kill their excess animals.
New regulations from State Vet as of 11/04
The primary change is the result of new regulations regarding euthanasia that were promulgated by the State Vet in November, 2004. In these new regs, animals must be separated in the chamber when being gassed and the chambers certified.
In addition, the age at which animals can legally be gassed has been raised from 8 weeks to 16 weeks. In addition, no animal with health-compromised issues may be gassed.
The regs also require jurisdictions with gas chambers to obtain an annual inspection certifying the chamber was properly sealed and could reach 6% concentration of CO. The certification is to come from a “recognized health and safety organization”.
Interestingly enough, the forms used to inspect facilities did not include any of the new regula-tions, and so inspections continued without the change the regs required, including the absence of checking for the certification of the gas chamber.
When this was brought to the attention of the State Vet, Dr. Richard Wilkes, he furnished a blank inspection form printed 6/05, including new regulations; to date, we have seen no inspections done against this form.
Because the State Vet realized inspections were not done as their own regs required, they were willing at our urging to do an inspection of the gas-using jurisdictions. Announced on a Wednesday, the inspections were complete by Friday – and all inspections were elected by the State Vet to be done by phone. Yes – by phone!
Included in the phone inspection reports we subsequently FOIA’d was the successful inspection of the gas chamber in Dickenson County. We were surprised to find Dickenson on the list of places using gas as it had not been on any list previously. But indeed, the phone inspection indicated their gas chamber was in compliance with Virginia regs. HOWEVER, DICKENSON HAS NO GAS CHAMBER. The state vet ultimately admitted this, but has not indicated how the inspection could have been done in the first place. How valid might all the other inspections therefore be? Dickenson was, understandably, not happy to have been identified as using gas on its animals.
Funding the transition from gas to EBI
Funding has been offered to jurisdictions that would be otherwise prevented from making the transition from gas to EBI. VVAW private money and help from VFHS have both been offered.
However, the costs of transition are very little. First, someone needs to be trained to do EBI, and that has typically been done in a day’s training, most often given by a local vet or a vet from the State Vet’s office. The jurisdiction then also needs to obtain licenses from the state to order and store controlled substances.
Some jurisdictions have been told by various groups and even in several cases by the office of the State Vet, that the jurisdiction must provide a room dedicated to EBI. This is not true. A quiet place with a table for a few supplies and a comfortable pad on the floor for the animal is about all that is required, and the room can be used for other things at other times. If such space is not available, we have personally offered to buy some kind of storage building that can serve as the place for these poor animals to be put down.
With EBI going at $7.50 per animal in some places, and even being bartered in at least one in-stance (so out-of-pocket-costs are virtually eliminated), the economics, to say nothing of the horror, make no sense.