WEST CHESTER (November 2) – State Senator Andy Dinniman wants to end animal-gassing in Pennsylvania and will hold a rally on Sunday, Nov. 13 at Thorncroft Equestrian Center on Line Road in East Goshen.
One of the rally’s special guests will be Daniel, the 5-year-old beagle that recently gained national fame for surviving an October 3 euthanasia attempt in an Alabama gas chamber. Daniel’s current guardian, Linda Schiller of Eleventh Hour Rescue in Rockaway, New Jersey, said the rally will be Daniel’s first appearance in his new role as a living example of the inhumanity of euthanasia-by-gassing.
The Nov. 13 rally will last from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. and is free and open to the public. The Thorncroft Equestrian Center’s address is 190 Line Road, Malvern.
Daniel after surviving the gas chamber.
Dinniman on Wednesday said several Commonwealth shelters still practice euthanasia-by-gassing even though such methods can take up to 25 minutes or more and are considered “inhumane” by the Association of Shelter Veterinarians and many other animal welfare groups.
“There is absolutely no reason why we are still gassing dogs, cats and other animals in Pennsylvania,” Dinniman said on Wednesday. “At least 18 states have already banned the practice and like my bill, require euthanasia by injection of sodium pentobarbital or one of its derivatives.”
Dinniman said his bill will also require that shelter employers be licensed as “euthanasia technicians,” who will have to take an approved euthanasia technician’s course and be familiar with Pennsylvania’s euthanasia rules and regulations.
“Right now, the law simply says those who perform euthanasia must hold ‘adequate knowledge’ to do so, which does not go nearly far enough in ensuring the best possible care for our pets,” Dinniman said. “Euthanasia is always a very difficult decision, but when we decide to put down our pets, we do it because we want to end their suffering. Pennsylvania law must respect that fact by making sure the euthanasia process itself adds no additional suffering for our dogs, cats, and all other animals.”
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Daniel today, happy and healthy with new friends in his foster home.
For more information contact Senator Dinniman’s Harrisburg Office at (717) 787-5709, or e-mail mindars@pasenate.com.