Street protest September 29, 2022, against a gas chamber to kill shelter animals

Nathan Winograd (The No Kill Advocacy Center) tells us in his Facebook post animal advocates are organising a street protest at 108 S. 100 East (Pleasant Grove Police Station) Pleasant Grove, UT, on September 29, 2022 and 10 AM. Gas chambers at animal shelters have almost entirely been phased out in America but the North Utah Valley Animal Shelter is one of those where cats that hide in the corner of their cages (indicating unsuitability for adoption) are gassed to death often on the same day that they come in. Nathan also tells us that the pound gases “very friendly dogs” despite the fact that there are rescue groups ready willing and able to find homes for them.

At my last count there were four gas chambers at shelters left in the US.

I don’t want to go into the unpleasant details but let’s just say that when animals are gassed in these ghastly chambers they desperately struggle for breath and in the words of Winograd “feel a searing pain in their lungs, and often claw at the chamber door or throw themselves against the side in a desperate attempt to escape”.

RELATED: 4 gas chambers remain in America to kill shelter animals (Sept 2021)

A lot of Americans hate the thought of this. It is so inherently cruel and unnecessary. The only justification for gas chambers is that they are cheaper than conventional euthanasia and more ‘efficient’. Not concern for animal welfare, however.

The gas chamber is just torturing an animal until it dies. Don’t the average people in Utah have any compassion!? Why don’t they rise up and vote out all those who are for the gas chamber. – Annie, a commenter on FB

Animal advocates have been trying to ban the gas chamber in Utah for nine years but each time they’ve tried to introduce legislation it’s been opposed by “regressive pound directors and their allies”. How is it that there are directors of shelters who find it perfectly acceptable to kill animals in gas chambers? Why are these people in positions of authority? Animal shelter directors should be compassionate people and there’s no place for managers like these in my view.

Also, apparently, this notorious neuter animal shelter isn’t the only one which uses a gas chamber to kill animals. Winograd tells us that the Green River City Council maintains a gas chamber to kill animals at their local pound. Once again there have been calls to get rid of it but, also in the words of Winograd, “Not one City Council member seconded the motion [to get rid of the chamber] and it failed to pass.”

However, public protests by local citizens resulted in the mayor directing staff to find a plan to replace the gas chamber but this was nine months ago, and the city pound is still gassing shelter animals to death.

RELATED: Missouri Is One of Four States with Operational Gas Chambers in Animal Shelters

The chief of police says that there are in the process of “working towards removing the gas chamber”. The police department oversees the pound. He didn’t say how long it would take to do this. He’s making excuses for the delays and in defence of the staff at the pound he said that they care about the animals and treat them fairly. Can you believe that?

By way of contrast, Montrose County, Colorado, has reported a 99% shelter placement rate for dogs, a 90% placement rate for cats and 96% for other small animals. Winograd says that the number of communities placing over 95% and as high as 99% of the animals in shelters is increasing. The success rate proves that it can be done and that shelter animals need not die at the hands of the shelters and particularly in gas chambers. They don’t need to die because there are too few homes or not enough people want to adopt them. According to Winograd, they are dying because of inefficiencies in the shelter system and the lack of commitment to a no-kill program. He wants all sheltered in America to “implement the No Kill Equation.”

Below are some more articles on cat shelters.