Help Support National Law for Humane Euthanasia
Several decades late, many dollars short - Help stop the inhumane killing!

Cross-posting appreciated.

Every day, my inbox is full of messages begging for help to save
animals in kill shelters where the "euthanasia" practices are beyond
belief - homemade gas chambers constructed of used oil drums and
powered by the exhaust from a tractor or animal control truck, a part-
time school janitor paid to shoot animals after they are turned out
in a fenced area, tales of animals put into a freezer who aren't even
dead, and worse. I'm also deluged by petitions to sign, letters to
write in support of various state bills (a new one in OH, HB 623,
will specifically prohibit shooting, although the final wording of
the bill hasn't been decided on). Time and again, when I talk about
these murderous acts, people ask me "how is that legal?" Well, it
shouldn't be!

FACT: Millions of animals are euthanized each year in the US &
Canada, and many by unacceptable methods. FACT: The only acceptable,
cruelty-free method of euthanasia is sedation followed by lethal
injection. FACT: The States have, for the most part, totally ignored
this issue because the compassionate solution costs $$$.

We need a federal law NOW that makes everything but lethal IV
injection illegal. Yes, this will put local and state governments in
a terrible predicament - they will have to train euthanasia
technicians, they will learn how few people can survive in such a
job, and they are going to have a terrible over-crowding problem in
their shelters when they learn that humane practices require time and
money. Instead of being able to ignore the cruel practices they
support by their apathy and inaction, instead of cheap mass-killing,
they will be forced to realize that spaying/neutering must be
required by every shelter in N. America, that they will need
government-funded programs in order to accomplish that, and they will
need education campaigns and the expertise of national groups already
devoted to such issues. Personally, I believe that by passing one
federal law on humane euthanasia practices, we may be providing the
final straw that breaks the camel's back (terrible analogy for an
animal advocate, isn't it?). In fact, if we really want to break the
bank, I suggest we also add in that it be illegal for shelters to
turn animals over to Class B animal dealers.

Thousands of us, especially volunteers, have been exhausting
ourselves trying to deal with this huge animal welfare crisis while
local and state governments have ignored their responsibilities. The
current administration seems bent on imposing its federal will in all
matters, perhaps the time as come to score a national victory for the
animals.

Imagine what we could accomplish if we all worked together on just
this one campaign?

Please consider asking any animal-related group you are a member of
to support a national campaign for a humane federal euthanasia of
animals law, and ask your elected representatives to sponsor such a
bill. You can find them all at: http://www.congress.org/
- and consider writing your own letter to an editor on this issue.

I'll appreciate this message being cross-posted to even breed-
specific lists that don't allow "animal rights" posts - this is NOT
animal "rights" - this is an attempt to stop the cruel murder of
animals already betrayed by humanity, and a high percentage of those
are purebred animals.

Thank you.
Jim
The Tiergarten Sanctuary Trust
http://www.crean.com/jimwillis

Posted on SHARE Yahoo group Sep 1, 2002