Utah Finally Bans Use Of Gas Chambers To Euthanize Cats & Dogs

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has spent nine years trying to ban the use of gas chambers in animal shelters in Utah – and their hard work has just paid off.

Utah Governor Spencer Cox just signed the Animal Shelter Revisions bill into law ending the cruel practice of using gas chambers to euthanize shelter pets.

HSUS shared the great victory on Facebook and wrote, “Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed a bill to end the use of gas chambers for the euthanasia of cats and dogs! We spent years working to end this cruel and archaic method in Utah, and thanks to our supporters, including Katherine Heigl, we won. We won’t rest until all gas chambers are closed down. There just isn’t a place for them in the humane world we are trying to create.”

Missouri and Wyoming are the only two states that continue to allow the use of gas chambers, which is a “terrifying and slow” death. There are just a few shelters who have active gas chambers, but HSUS said one is too many.

“Since 2013, the Humane Society of the United States has made it our mission to dismantle every gas chamber in the country. We have helped fund, with incentive grants, the demolition of more than 75 chambers–that’s two-thirds of the total number operating nationwide since we began this work,” states HSUS.

Utah state director, Sundays Hunt, who has been campaigning for the ban since 2014 shared the following with HSUS after the bill passed. “This victory is a testament to our years of constant, steady work educating Utahans, bringing together powerful voices like Senator Michael McKell and Katherine Heigl, and never giving up this fight for our state companion animals that deserve humane treatment throughout their lives and certainly at the end.”

HSUS will continue to push for a ban in Missouri and Wyoming until all gas chambers are banned and destroyed. They are already making progress in Missouri who has introduced a similar bill to ban the use of gas chambers in the state.

They commended Utah on the decision and reiterated why it is so important to ban gas chambers. “Honoring companion animals should come with a commitment to ensure that they are treated with compassion during every stage of their lives. While we recognize that there will always be a need to end the suffering of animals who are experiencing untreatable and severe conditions, we believe humans have an obligation to offer animals a painless death, not the horror of a gas chamber.”

Follow HSUS on Facebook for more updates and to see how you can help be the voice for the voiceless animals.