Animal Shelter Cruel and Horrific Killings

This is an excerpt of the letter sent March 7th, 2010 by Joy Bertrand to the Robeson County Manager depicting the controversial and horrific procedures used still today at this facility as well as in many others in North Carolina.

The use of Heartstick euthanasia although less expensive and opposed by the United States Humane Society is to be applied when the animal is unconscious. The American Veterinary Medical Association says, for example, "Intracardiac injection is acceptable only when performed on heavily sedated, anesthetized or comatose animals, owing to the difficulty and unpredictability of performing the injection accurately."

'The Robeson County Shelter is not sedating animals before conducting this otherwise painful procedure. In fact, as will be discussed further below, witnesses have observed the SHELTER WORKERS ENJOY DOING IT.'

The video assumed taken in 2001 was aired in YoTtube on February 05th  of 2010 by the rescue organization, Thunder's Angels Dog Rescue, out of Harleysville, PA (Philadelphia area); the video depicts the Robeson County workers killing cats and dogs with the heartstick procedure and as you will see no-one of these animals are sedated.
Thunder's Angels states:
"Robeson County is STILL using heartstick. Robeson and many other NC counties may be able to get away with violating NC law because of the "closed door" policy of these municipal pounds. Since there is no independent supervision, the daily assembly line euthanasia of former beloved family pets are done in secrecy. Many of the 30 plus counties of North Carolina who still do not exclusively use intravenous injection continue to use heartstick, gas, decompression, or gunshot."

"Robeson officials claim that they began complying with all NC laws after this video aired on the news and a law suit was filed, however there is no way to verify such claims due to the "closed door" policy of the pound."

 Caution video is very graphic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaEW6rpzV-E

  "Shelter Director Jeff Bass excuse for using heartstick belies the fact that the facility is properly heartsticking animals. To do so would require shelter staff to sedate the animal first. To sedate an animal would require the same IV set-up that would allow the shelter to then simply euthanize using the same IV. So, the saving argument by Jeff Bass is ridiculous, if the shelter is properly administering the procedure."

Robeson 3/3/10 Documenting Robeson County Animal Shelter Documenting Robeson County Animal Shelter in St. Pauls, NC
During our recent rescue mission to Robeson County, the experience was documented. We wanted to show people what is happening at this shelter and encourage everyone to work towards change.
http://www.onetruemedia.com/otm_site/view_shared?p=a7c212ce23a99ba3062885&skin_id=1901

It has been almost (8) long years since the petition to Ban the use of gas chambers in North Carolina Pounds published by Jeanne Crockett on December 23,2002 addressed to the North Carolina Legislators collected 1494 signatures. 
The N.C. Animals Services counties focused on due to their use of gas chambers to kill animals are: Craven/Pamlico Animal Services Center in Craven County; Gaston County ; Davidson County; Rowan County;  Iredell County;  Union County; Randolph County;  Craven/Pamlico counties;  Wilkes County; Cabarrus County; Lincoln County; Nash County; Granville County;Watauga County;Person County;Johnston County;Beaufort County;Lee County;Chowan County;Sampson County; Columbus County Animal Shelter in Whiteville

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=48382789085&ref=share#!/topic.php?uid=48382789085&topic=14497

We the undersigned want immediate changes to be implemented at the Robeson County shelter.  We want the complete abolition of  heartstick and gas chambers procedures as methods for euthanasia.  Laws and regulations should be enforced for all the shelters. Since May of 2006 there are seventeen (17) published inspection reports on Robeson County Animal Shelter, N.C. of which only thirty percent were approved. Out of the seventeen (17) reports there are only two (2) on euthanasia marked as approved although one had comments of unacceptable in 'prepare animals' for euthanasia.

Inspection reports (http://www.ncagr.gov/vet/aws/Inspections/Robeson_County/index.htm)

Nobody debates the certification and training of the Robeson County Technicians but we do debate the cruel and horrific ways in how euthanasia is performed, as it is depicted in the videos.

In the videos the euthanasia is not performed in compliance with the N.C. Animal Welfare Act, as stated.

19A-21. Purposes: The purposes of this Article are (i) to protect the owners of dogs and cats from the theft of such pets; (ii) to prevent the sale or use of stolen pets; (iii) to insure that animals, as items of commerce, are provided humane care and treatment by regulating the transportation, sale, purchase, housing, care, handling and treatment of such animals by persons or organizations engaged in transporting, buying, or selling them for such use; (iv) to insure that animals confined in pet shops, kennels, animal shelters and auction markets are provided humane care and treatment; (v) to prohibit the sale, trade or adoption of those animals which show physical signs of infection, communicable disease, or congenital abnormalities, unless veterinary care is assured subsequent to sale, trade or adoption.

19A-23. Definitions: For the purposes of this Article, the following terms, when used in the Article or the rules or orders made pursuant thereto, shall be construed respectively to mean:

(5) "Animal shelter" means a facility which is used to house or contain seized, stray, homeless, quarantined, abandoned or unwanted animals and which is under contract with, owned, operated, or maintained by a county, city, town, or other municipality, or by a duly incorporated humane society, animal welfare society, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals, or other nonprofit organization devoted to the welfare, protection, rehabilitation, or humane treatment of animals.

(9) "Euthanasia" means the humane destruction of an animal accomplished by a method that involves rapid unconsciousness and immediate death or by a method that involves anesthesia, produced by an agent which causes painless loss of consciousness, and death during such loss of consciousness.

19A-24. Powers of Board of Agriculture (a) The Board of Agriculture shall:

(5) Adopt rules on the euthanasia of animals in the possession or custody of any person required to obtain a certificate of registration under this Article. An animal shall only be put to death by a method and delivery of method approved by the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Humane Society of the United States, or the American Humane Association. The Department shall establish rules for the euthanasia process using any one or combination of methods and standards prescribed by the three aforementioned organizations. The rules shall address the equipment, the process, and the separation of animals, in addition to the animals' age and condition. If the gas method of euthanasia is approved, rules shall require (i) that only commercially compressed carbon monoxide gas is approved for use, and (ii) that the gas must be delivered in a commercially manufactured chamber that allows for the individual separation of animals. Rules shall also mandate training for any person who participates in the euthanasia process.

The Heart stick euthanasia is approved by the United States Humane Society to be applied when the animal is unconscious.

The American Veterinary Medical Association says, for example: "Intracardiac injection is acceptable only when performed on heavily sedated, anesthetized or comatose animals, owing to the difficulty and unpredictability of performing the injection accurately."

The Robeson County Shelter is not sedating animals before conducting this otherwise painful and gruesome procedure of heart stick; making it very clear that these CET are not (and have not been) in compliance with the rules and provisions of the N.C. Animal Welfare Act.

The killing of animals in the gas chamber as depicted in the video does not follow the rules of the N.C.Animal Welfare Act either, because all the animals are placed on top of each other and were not individually separated.  Those animals died in agony and terror fighting for their lives for over ten (10) minutes, when euthanasia ought to be made as humanely as possible stated 'rapid unconsciousness and immediate death.'

Therefore the workers, CET and Shelter Manager at Robeson shelter ought to have their licenses and certifications suspended.  They were trained as CET, they had the CET manuals with all the rules and regulations in the County shelter as stated in one of the reports, they disregarded the AWA ordinances and failed to comply with the rules of the N.C. Animal Welfare Act.

 19A-30. Refusal, suspension or revocation of certificate or license. The Director may refuse to issue or renew or may suspend or revoke a certificate of registration for any animal shelter or a license for any public auction, kennel, pet shop, or dealer, if after an impartial investigation as provided in this Article he determines that any one or more of the following grounds apply:

(2) Willful disregard or violation of this Article or any rules issued pursuant thereto;

(3) Failure to provide adequate housing facilities and/or primary enclosures for the purposes of this Article, or if the feeding, watering, sanitizing and housing practices at the animal shelter, public auction, pet shop, or kennel are not consistent with the intent of this Article or the rules adopted under this Article"

Also be noted that based on NC Gen Stat 14-360 et seq.

Cruelty to animals is defined as: intentionally overdrive, overload, wound, injure, torment, kill, or deprive of necessary sustenance, or cause or procure to be overdriven, overloaded, wounded, injured, tormented, killed, or deprived of necessary sustenance, which is a Class 1 Misdemeanor with fines and imprisonment at the discretion of the court. 

Do what is right, reform and improve the system in place and abolish the use of heartstick and gas chamber euthanasia.

Thank you for taking the time to read our petition.