14 DAY TRIAL // Governor Tom Corbett is expected to soon sign a new legislation that will outlaw the use of gas chambers by shelters that find themselves with no choice left except to put various animals to sleep.
Should things go as planned, this new legislation will be implemented on October 29, and from that moment on, all animal shelters in this American state will have to dismantle their gas chambers within 30 days' time.
The main drive behind these new rules and regulations for animal euthanasia in Pennsylvania is the fact that, as studies and sheer facts have shown, a dog or a cat placed in such a gas chamber takes about 30 minutes to die.
It need not come as a surprise that, because of this, most people agree that the practice is unnecessarily cruel and must be put an end to all throughout the US as soon as possible.
The people who spent countless hours militating against these gas chambers claim that, by contrast, a lethal injection knocks the animal unconscious in just 3-5 seconds, and death occurs within the following 2-5 minutes.
Still, there are some who argue that this new legislation, often referred to as “Daniel's Law” in memory of a beagle whose name was Daniel and who was put to sleep in this manner together with other 17 stray dogs only last year, is to negatively impact on the economic stability of animal shelters in this state.
This is because significant amounts of money will most likely have to be spent both on the lethal injection itself, and on training the veterinarians and veterinary technicians who will be performing it.
However, PA Senator Andy Dinniman wished to emphasize the fact that, “Near the end of an animal’s life, sometimes the most humane choice for a pet is to end its suffering.”
Furthermore, “When that difficult time comes, Pennsylvanians deserve to be sure that their pet or any pet animal is euthanized as humanely and painlessly as possible and by someone specifically trained to do that difficult task.”
Once this legislation becomes a reality, Pennsylvania will become the 20th American state in which gas chambers for animals are outlawed.