END OF THE GREEN RIVER AND EVANSTON GAS CHAMBERS!

Gas chamber

On Tuesday, October 7th, the Green River City Council voted unanimously to eliminate the gas chamber from the local animal shelter. Until Tuesday, there were two known gas chambers remaining in the United States for the purpose of euthanizing domestic pets in animal shelters: both of them in Wyoming.  Then, on Wednesday, after Green River’s vote to remove theirs, Evanston announced they will be removing and destroying their gas chamber as well.

There are over 4,000 public and private animal shelters in the country, and approximately 607,000 animals were euthanized in these shelters in 2024, according to the ASPCA. Up until now, all but two shelters had replaced the inhumane gas chamber with the more universally accepted intravenous injection, when euthanasia is necessary.

According to Linda Burt in a previous WYCAP newsletter article titled “Gas Chambers; A Thing of the Past? Sadly, No.” (Summer 2024), “Animals may struggle and become anxious during induction of gas with some animals exhibiting escape behavior prior to the onset of unconsciousness. Carbon monoxide specifically may produce agitation, vocalization, and convulsions. The use of gas chambers can also cause pain and extreme stress in animals.”

Thanks to the tireless efforts of WYCAP volunteers Madhu Anderson, Linda Burt, and other volunteers, the Green River YES vote finally became a reality. If you would like to thank the Green River City Council members, following are their emails:

   * Mayor Pete Rust; prust@grwyo.org

   * Sherry Bushman; sbushman@grwyo.org

   * Ron Williams; rwilliams@grwyo.org

   * Jessica Maser; jmaser@grwyo.org

   * Mike Shutran; mshutran@grwyo.org

   * Robert Berg; rberg@grwyo.org

   * Gary Killpack; gkillpack@grwyo.org

If you would like to thank Evanston’s mayor, Kent Williams, his phone number is 307-783-6301.

THANK YOU, GREEN RIVER AND EVANSTON!