§ 4-501 — Disposal of animals kept for pleasure - Method.

A. Any dog, cat or any other animal which is kept for pleasure rather than utility in or about a household, held by or in the custody of a private or public animal shelter or agency and not reclaimed by the owner, may be disposed of only by: 1. Adoption as a pet in a suitable home; 2. Delivery to a licensed educational or research institution in accordance with the provisions of Sections 391 through 402 of this title; or 3. Euthanasia by only one of the following methods: a. administration of denatured sodium pentobarbital, b. the use of a carbon monoxide chamber, using commercially compressed cylinder gas; provided that kittens and puppies under sixteen (16) weeks of age shall not be euthanized with carbon monoxide but with injections of denatured sodium pentobarbital, or c. any other method approved by the Animal Industries Services Division of the State Department of Agriculture which shall include current acceptable euthanasia recommendations from the American Veterinary Medical Association, with the exception of curariform derivative drugs. The following requirements must be met to ensure the euthanasia agent is humane: (1) the method should be as painless as possible to the animal as determined by the best available medical and scientific knowledge and technology, (2) the animal should be kept as free from anxiety and fear as possible, (3) the technique should be: (a) simple enough to be used by relatively unskilled personnel, (b) legally available to all animal shelters and humane societies, (c) as mechanically simple and maintenance free as possible within reasonable cost, and (d) physically safe for personnel using it. B. Death should be confirmed by cessation of vital signs. Professional judgment should be used in consideration of the animal species and method of euthanasia to determine the means of confirming death.

Legislative History

Added by Laws 1981, c. 167, § 1. Amended by Laws 2000, c. 199, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2000.