Commissioner Tommy Irwin Sued for Gas Chambers

According to an article on WSB's website, "A lawsuit filed [March 12] in Superior Court in Atlanta accuses Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin of illegally allowing the euthanasia of dogs and cats in carbon monoxide gas chambers more than a decade after the practice was outlawed in Georgia."

"The Humane Euthanasia Act sponsored by Chesley Morton of DeKalb County was passed in 1990 and declared sodium pentobarbital as the exclusive method for killing stray, neglected, abandoned or unwanted animals. The law also said animals can not be left alone during the euthanization process."

Wow. I was not aware of this. It seems that after the case involving Amazing Grace last year, we would have all known about this. Although the article names only a few areas as still using gas chambers, Cobb County, Clayton County and the city of Macon, we all know too well that there are lots more areas still using it. It is not that they want to use that method, but that so often with the number of animals that have to be euthanized each day due to lack of space, not to mention those that are vicious or feral, it is a necessity.

Before you go jumping on me for my perspective, let me explain that I started working part time at our local animal control two weeks ago and have been present for the acts, though not a direct witness. We are fortunate that our animal control is trying to be as humane as possible and allows the pets to be tranquillized before the gassing. No, it's still not a perfect method, but when they are taxed with picking up after other people's constant irresponsibility, you really can't go throwing stones at them. Every day I have been there, at least one litter if not more of puppies or kittens has been either picked up by animal control officers or dropped off by people who found them as strays.

I have never been a fan of Tommy Irwin as I have never believed he considered animal protection a priority for his office (lots of stories I have on that, but no need to push it all here). I'm convinced that as long as he is in office, we are going to continue to have problems (we all know the stories about the pets at Kellers, yet they still sell them every weekend). I can't really blame the inspectors; they are taxed to have so few of them to cover such large areas. I was blown away at how nice my last inspection went as the inspectors previously were in such bad moods from having to travel so far to see me. But back to the topic at hand.

What will this lawsuit accomplish? Laws can be passed, but if my understanding is correct, it costs much more for the lethal injection than the gassing. If our euthanasia rates are going up instead of down each year (from what I have been reading on stats in different areas of Georgia), who's going to cover the costs? Look at our shelter here. Nevermind the gassing, they don't even have the room for all the intakes to be kept for five days. What about that? How about a more pro-active solution, such as a free spay clinic or more microchipping clinics so pets can be reunited with families rather than counted among the homeless and subject to euthanasia (side note: CPR does regular low-cost microchipping clinics for $10 per pet - visit our website for next date).


"The plaintiffs are a former state lawmaker who sponsored the Humane Euthanasia Act and a former Humane Society employee. They allege that Irvin and his department 'are aware of multiple, serious, ongoing violations' and have inspected and renewed licenses for animal shelters still using gas chambers." You know, it is always easier to point fingers when you are on the outside looking in. Yes, I agree that if a law was passed, compliance should have been mandated. However, as with so many things in Georgia, it fell through the cracks. In a perfect world, there would be no need for gas chambers because we wouldn't have overcrowded animal shelters. So let's do something more positive than just filing a lawsuit. Why does everyone think that is the easy solution to anything anymore?