HOCKING COUNTY, Ohio - The 4th District Court of Appeals ruled the Hocking County homemade gas chamber used to kill dogs is not humane. Hocking County is one of four or five counties still using a gas chamber to kill animals according to the Ohio Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Ohio law says no one can kill a dog by any method that doesnt immediately put an animal unconscious leading to a painless death. The non-profit organization Ohio SPCA has battled and protested Hocking Countys use of the gas chamber in and out of the courts for years. The organizations attorney says this case is precedent setting, which means it could be the death-knell for other counties still using gas chambers. Not only is Hocking Countys chamber homemade, according to court decision and judgment entry, it leaked carbon monoxide. The Ohio SPCA and their attorney said causing the dogs a slow, terrible death. Which was a really horrible thing to look at, said John Bell, OSPCA attorney. One of those testifying, a former assistant dog warden Chris Vickers says dogs put in the gas chamber would scream like they had been hit by a car, after their deaths he saw fight marks and bodily fluid inside the chamber. That means it took time for the dogs become unconscious and die. The court said the method should cause animals immediate unconsciousness and a painless death, which the court ruled were not happening with this chamber. A county appointed attorney argued Euthanization By Injection (EBI) was too stressful on both dogs and shelter personnel, but tests show EBI made dogs unconscious within three to five seconds. Right now what is considered humane is EBI, says Bell. The Ohio SPCA struggled for years trying to convince Hocking County officials how inhumane the homemade gas chamber was. It was surprising how defiant, unmoved and unwilling to budge the county and existing dog warden were, Bell says. The Hocking County Commissioners have not responded to NBC4s messages about their future plans. According to Bell, the county has 30 days to appeal this ruling to the Ohio Supreme Court. Bell says this ruling is clear. The county dog warden must stop gassing dogs and start using EBI which he is already certified to do. nbc4i/story/26058118/hocking-county-dog-gas-chamber-is-ruled-inhumane
Posted on: Sun, 20 Jul 2014 16:00:00 +0000
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