Two of the three gas chambers in the United States still used for euthanasia at animal shelters are in Wyoming, one in Green River and the other in Evanston. And those who say it’s a cruel and inhumane way to dispose of animals want the gas chambers shut down.
But supporters say the devices, which use carbon monoxide, kill animals quickly and humanely. And, they argue, it can be far less emotionally taxing on shelter employees than using lethal injections on animals.
Detractors Say They’re Cruel
Cheyenne Animal Shelter Chief Executive Officer Britney Tennant told Cowboy State Daily that she opposes using gas chambers in the relatively few instances in which Wyoming shelters have no choice but to put animals down.
“It’s just another black eye on the state of Wyoming and its unwillingness to change when it comes to the humane treatment of animals,” said Tennant, who also is the founder of Black Dog Animal Rescue.
Tennant, animal welfare activist Madhu Anderson of Green River and others want the gas chambers in Evanston and Green River replaced with lethal injections.
Missouri has the only other animal shelter in the country still using a carbon monoxide gas chamber, Anderson told Cowboy State Daily.
She added that Rock Springs also had a gas chamber at its animal shelter, but she and others successfully pushed to have it shut down a few years ago.
Supporters Say It’s Easier On Animals, Shelter Staff
Advocates for keeping the gas chambers argue that exposing animals to lethal amounts of carbon monoxide knocks them unconscious quickly and kills them painlessly shortly thereafter.
“They (the animals) don’t claw and scratch and try to get out. They don’t come awake later in landfills,” Green River Animal Control Supervisor Tracy Wyant told Cowboy State Daily.
The gas chamber is also easier on the mental health of her employees, she added.
“I prefer it (the gas chamber) because it’s less personal. With injections it’s personal, and you’re there and you have the animal in your arms,” Wyant said. “My staff has cried. My staff has compassion fatigue.”
Wyant said her shelter also uses lethal injections, mostly on cats.
“As long as I have both options, I’m going to use both options,” she said.
The Situation In Evanston
The Evanston animal shelter also uses both methods, Police Chief Michael Vranish and Animal Control Supervisor Lt. Rhett Groll told Cowboy State Daily.
Groll said the gas chamber was donated to his animal shelter by the Humane Society in the 1990s, adding that in many cases, it’s easier on the animals and safer for the shelter staff to use the chamber.
Even when lethal injections are used, they frequently must be administered through a needle mounted at the end “of a 4-foot stick” to keep personnel safe from vicious or panicked animals, Groll said.
There are other advantages to using the gas chamber in some cases, Vranish said.
Pet owners who’ve spent the last few moments with their beloved animals at a veterinarian’s office have likely seen the animal injected with a sedative, and then injected with a drug that stops the pet’s heart, he said.
Only veterinarians are qualified to administer the sedatives, he said.
Shelter employees must go straight to the lethal injection, with no sedative, making things harder on them and the animals, Vranish said.
Then there’s the matter of properly disposing of the animal carcasses, he said.
Evanston’s animal shelter has a crematorium, he said. It’s open to public use, “if somebody brings in their Fido that passed away” and want to keep their pet’s ashes.
It takes much longer to properly cremate an animal than many people realize. And the if the crematorium is tied up, that might mean animals euthanized at the shelter have to buried at the local landfill.
And if those animals died by lethal injection, that could pose a threat to wildlife, Vranish said.
For example, if a magpie at the landfill ate from an injected animal’s carcass, it might fly off and die, and then in turn be eaten by an eagle or some other wild creature, which could also die, he said.
‘No Good Argument’
Tennant said she’s not convinced that gas chambers are a good option and that, “There’s no argument for using gas chambers.”
She said the Cheyenne Animal Shelter is fortunate to have a veterinarian on staff who can administer a sedative prior to injecting animals with lethal drugs.
She understands the predicament that shelters can find themselves in if none of their staff are qualified to administer sedatives. But she added that animal shelters across Wyoming have managed to work out deals with veterinarians to clear that hurdle.
The Humane Society also offers money to help shelters properly dispose of gas chambers and to train staff in how to administer injections, she said.
As Tennant sees it, if other shelters in Wyoming have moved past using gas chambers, the shelters in Evanston and Green River can too.
Are Gas Chambers Humane?
There’s also disagreement over whether gas chambers are a humane way to put animals down.
Tennant and Anderson said they’re concerned that more than one animal might he placed in the chamber at a time. They also argue that when an animal is put inside a chamber and the door is shut, it’s inevitable that panic will set it.
“They’re going to freak out,” Anderson said.
Animals already suffering from lung disorders also might not breathe in enough carbon monoxide to be knocked out and killed quickly, she added.
Wyant said gas chambers have glass windows that help keep the animals from feeling claustrophobic.
She also shared a letter from Green River Fire Chief Shaun Sturlaugson with Cowboy State Daily, stating his opinion that the gas chamber is humane.
“At this point it is in my opinion that the animals that are put in the euthanasia chamber should be considered to have been euthanized in a very humane way,” the letter says, in part. “The worst part of this process for the animal would probably being on a catch pole to protect the officer if it is an aggressive animal.”
What ‘No Kill Shelter’ Actually Means
The animal shelters in Cheyenne, Evanston and Green River are certified as “no kill” shelters. And yet, they still euthanize animals.
According to national standards, a shelter can be certified as “no kill” if it euthanizes fewer than 10% of the animals it takes in each year.
Tennant, Wyant and Groll said they try to use euthanasia only as a last resort, usually when an animal is simply too vicious or too sick to be put up for adoption.
In 2022, the Green River Animal Control Shelter took in 835 animals and euthanized 53 domestic animals, Wyant said. The shelter also had to euthanize some skunks and racoons that year.
In 2023, 710 animals were taken in, and 63 dogs and cats were euthanized, she added.
Wyant said she’s been “called Hitler” for continuing to use the gas chamber, but she still considers it a humane and effective option for putting animals down when there’s no other choice.
And no matter which side of the debate over gas chambers people fall on, everybody agrees that having to euthanize animals is the worst part of working at a shelter, she said.
“It’s something that sucks, it’s something that’s personal, it’s something that nobody wants to do,” she said.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
