Stop the Use of Gas Chambers to Euthanize Pets in Missouri!

We, the people of the state of Missouri, are uniting for a desperately important cause: ban the use of gas chambers in our state.  The continued and lawful use of this barbaric form of euthanasia is inhumane, archiac, and does not align with the values of Missouri citizens. More humane, less costly alternatives to this practice are readily available.  Let's unite to finally say NO MORE to gas chambers!

 As rescuers/advocates/allies to shelter cats and dogs, we are currently unable to save every animal who enters the shelter system. Amazing steps are being taken to reduce the euthanasia rates across Missouri. Some shelters are experiencing adoption rates at 90% or higher for the first time ever. The no-kill movement is growing and education about spay/neuter initiatives has become part of everyday social dialogue across the country. People are waking up the reality that millions of healthy cats and dogs are waiting in shelters, many not making it out alive.

  While this movement is growing by leaps and bounds, there is one facet that few know about - something that serves as a horrible end for the animals who have no rescue, no advocate.  Deep within the recesses of a number of shelters across Missouri is a horrendous reality: gas chambers. 

  It usually starts with a large metal box, about the size of a deep freezer. The lid is made of metal as well, with a tight seal to ensure no air can slip in. The lid is opened and the death trap is loaded. Big dogs, little dogs, puppies, cats, kittens, mother dogs with her newborn babies... Everyone piled in. Panic erupts as the lid is closed. The animals, confused and disoriented may begin to fight and almost always bark and cry. The more lucky victims of this brutal death are treated with a concentrated gas specifically designed to sufficate them. The less fortunate endure a slow death from the fumes of the city Animal Control vehicle's exhaust being pumped into the gas chamber through a hose. 

  The sound from the outside is unbearable, the sound within cannot be described in words. Animals thrash and howl and convulse as they frantically try to inhale the last vapors of fresh air around them. They fight. They scream. And then, slowly, the noise ebbs. Whimpers then a silence, only the hissing of gas fills the air. When the bodies have settled into the bottom of the chamber, sometimes the shelter attendant will deposit more live animals atop the corpses, filling the box to the brim. Lid closes, gas gets turned back on. Screams, whimpers, then silence. It always ends in silence. No escape, no mercy.

  The continued lawful use of gas chambers across the United States is an issue gaining attention. Several states have already enacted laws banning this barbaric practice, others have legislation pending. NOW is the time to come together, to think, to challenge, to act to eradicate gassing once and for all!

  Now is the time to rise up as animal advocates and show the world that Missouri will not stand for the use of gassing any longer! Together we can end the use of gas chambers.