Local Shelters Continue To Use Guns To Euthanize Dogs

[KP]

Local Shelters Continue To Use Guns To Euthanize Dogs
New Law Likely Won't Be Passed This Session
It may seem like a cruel way to end an animal's life, but it remains legal in Kentucky to use a gun to euthanize a dog.

Dogs Still Being Euthanized By Guns

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Euthanized Dogs: Your Thoughts?

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Such incidents continue to happen in the Tri-State, particularly at shelters in rural parts of the state, WLWT Eyewitness News 5's Brian Hamrick reported Wednesday.

Kentucky lawmakers have a bill written up that would end the practice, which leaves citizens wondering why it's not been enacted yet.

The grim reality is that so many animals pack shelters every year that some shelters find themselves needing to euthanize hundreds of dogs, Hamrick reported.

"It's sad and unfortunate that in some counties, this is still a method they need to use," Animal Advisory Board Director Beckey Reiter said.

For years, Reiter and her colleagues have been trying to outlaw shooting animals at shelters as a form of euthanasia.

"If we have to do it, I feel it's our duty to do it humanely," she said.

So why hasn't a law been passed that makes it illegal to kill animals with guns? Hamrick Wednesday spoke by telephone to Ky. Sen. Albert Robinson, who said the choice should be left up to each county.

"You don't require them to use a needle to end the life of this hog or this cow or this pork or this beef that you put on your table that you eat every day if you eat meat," Robinson said. "You don't require them to put a needle and say it's inhumane."

As more and more animals pack more shelters, another legislative session is ending in Kentucky, and it looks like a new law will not pass again.

So while shooting animals at shelters remains legal, those against it remain steadfast, Hamrick reported.

"I have to stay optimistic," Reiter said. "It will pass eventually."

The average cost of the lethal injection is about $1 per animal, and shelters willing to give up the gun can qualify for state assistance.

To offer your opinions on this issue, call your state legislator at (800) 372-7181.

Copyright 2004

[kendalyn]

When we found Buck and the two other dogs in Kentucky, the people at the boat rental place told us not to take them to a shelter no matter what. He said they euthanize the dogs after 3 days by shooting them with a .22. :x They emphasized that the people who work in those shelters are not usually animal lovers and are not nice to the animals who come in. I hope a law gets passed. Stray dogs should not be used for target practice. :x