Claim: Kirk Watson Says carbon monoxide is still employed to euthanize dogs and cats in 29 Texas animal shelters.
Verdict: SUPPORTS

Retrieved passages:
title: Animal euthanasia
text: issued new guidelines for carbon dioxide induction, stating that a flow rate of 10% to 30% volume/min is optimal for the humane euthanization of small rodents. Carbon monoxide is often used, but some states in the US have banned its use in animal shelters: although carbon monoxide poisoning is not particularly painful, the conditions in the gas chamber are often not humane. Nitrogen has been shown to be effective, although some young animals are rather resistant and it currently is not widely used. Cervical dislocation, or displacement (breaking or fracturing) of the neck, is an older yet less common method

title: Animal euthanasia
text: Gas anesthetics such as isoflurane and sevoflurane can be used for euthanasia of very small animals. The animals are placed in sealed chambers where high levels of anesthetic gas are introduced. Death may also be caused using carbon dioxide once unconsciousness has been achieved by inhaled anaesthetic. Carbon dioxide is often used on its own for euthanasia of wild animals. There are mixed opinions on whether it causes distress when used on its own, with human experiments lending support to the evidence that it can cause distress and equivocal results in non-humans. In 2013, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA)

title: John Scott Haldane
text: of his research, he was able to design respirators for rescue workers. He tested the effect of carbon monoxide on his own body in a closed chamber, describing the results of his slow poisoning. In the late 1890s, he introduced the use of small animals for miners to detect dangerous levels of carbon monoxide underground, either white mice or canaries. With a faster metabolism, they showed the effects of poisoning before gas levels became critical for the workers, and so gave an early warning of the problem. The canary in British pits was replaced in 1986 by the electronic gas

title: No-kill shelter
text: to reduce euthanasia. In 2009, the Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada provincial government and the town of Stephenville began negotiations to close their no-kill animal shelter, claiming that upwards of 100 dogs and cats with diseases or behavioral problems were suffering severe neglect. Media quoted the town's mayor as stating that animals cannot be humanely stored indefinitely. The animals in the shelter will be evaluated by veterinarians but will most likely be euthanized. A no-kill policy led to a dispute between the Toronto Humane Society and the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in 2009, with the OSPCA

title: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
text: 1990, Georgia's Humane Euthanasia Act became one of the first laws in the nation to mandate intravenous injection of sodium pentobarbital as the prescribed method for euthanizing cats and dogs in Georgia animal shelters. Prior to that time, gas chambers and other means were commonly employed. Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin was tasked with licensing the shelters and enforcing the new law, through the department's Animal Protection Division. However, Commissioner Irvin failed to abide by the terms of the law, and instead continued to license gas chambers. PETA contacted the author of the original legislation, and in March 2007, the

title: Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute
text: to 646, the number of dogs from 293 to 183 within a short period per USDA animal inventory reports. As of 2014, Lovelace still used 431 primates and outnumbered all US institutions performing primate experiments like Battelle Memorial Institute (270) or USAMRIID (249). In January 2018, the NYT reported that in 2014, the LRRI studied the health effect of up to 4 hours of diesel exhaust exposure on 10 monkeys. An organization called the "European Research Group on Environment and Health in the Transport Sector" (EUGT) paid for the research, and was jointly funded by Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW. The

title: Blacksburg Volunteer Rescue Squad
text: forensic examiners completed scene examination and documentation, BVRS transported or coordinated the transport of 32 victims to the Medial Examiner’s Officer in Roanoke. On Sunday, August 19, 2007, a total of 23 students were overcome by carbon monoxide in a Blacksburg apartment complex and were taken the hospital. Five of these patients were airlifted to UVA Medical Center or Duke University Medical Center for serious complications from the carbon monoxide poisoning. December 31, 2010, three people were injured when an explosion tore open a section of the Federal-Mogul building in Blacksburg. The explosion occurred around 9:30 a.m. The first emergency

title: Carbon monoxide
text: medical care for non-fatal carbon monoxide poisoning" These products include malfunctioning fuel-burning appliances such as furnaces, ranges, water heaters, and gas and kerosene room heaters; engine-powered equipment such as portable generators; fireplaces; and charcoal that is burned in homes and other enclosed areas. The American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC) reported 15,769 cases of carbon monoxide poisoning resulting in 39 deaths in 2007. In 2005, the CPSC reported 94 generator-related carbon monoxide poisoning deaths. Forty-seven of these deaths were known to have occurred during power outages due to severe weather, including Hurricane Katrina. Still others die from carbon monoxide

title: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
text: Georgia Department of Agriculture and Commissioner Irvin were sued by former State Representative Chesley V. Morton. The Fulton County Superior Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, validating the terms of the Humane Euthanasia Act, with an injunction prohibiting the department from issuing licenses to shelters using gas chambers in violation of the act. When the department continued to license a gas chamber in Cobb County, a second court action was brought, which resulted in the department being held in contempt. Two PETA employees were acquitted in 2007 of cruelty to animals after at least 80 euthanized animals were left

title: Philip Nitschke
text: product called the "exit bag" (a large plastic bag with a drawstring allowing it to be secured around the neck) and the "CoGen" (or "Co-Genie") device. The CoGen device generates the deadly gas carbon monoxide, which is inhaled with a face mask. In December 2008 Nitschke released details of a euthanasia machine to the media. He called it "flawless" and "undetectable", saying the new process uses ordinary household products including a barbecue gas bottle — available from hardware stores — filled with nitrogen. Nitschke developed a process in which patients lose consciousness immediately and die a few minutes later. Nitschke

title: Organ replacement in animals
text: cats, have high enough blood component values, and have no infectious diseases. One donation could be used by up to two animals. Policy regarding how donor animals are treated varies. In April, 2014, a veterinarian office in Fort Worth Texas, was accused of keeping dogs that had been presumed to have been euthanized, and using the animals for blood withdrawal. Open-heart surgery for dogs requires a six- to eight-person team to carefully monitor the patient before and during the invasive surgery. The entire surgery lasts five hours, during which time the dog is connected to a blood oxygenator and the

title: Helen Woodward Animal Center
text: life to help animals. In 1999 Helen Woodward Animal Center created the "Home 4 the Holidays" pet adoption campaign including 14 animal shelters in San Diego County, California. The goal of the drive is to reduce euthanasia by encouraging families to adopt a pet rather than purchase a pet from a "puppy mill" or backyard breeder. During the first campaign the participating shelters adopted 2,563 orphaned pets. In 2000 the campaign expanded to 5 states, and then expanded both nationally and internationally over the next 13 years. Some "Home 4 the Holidays" spokespersons include Hilary Swank, Diane Keaton and the

title: Hurricane Ike
text: were exposed to the debris and other hazards, developing a risk of injury. After the hurricane because of power outages individuals and family misused portable generators causing carbon monoxide poisoning. Eighty-two percent to 87 percent of carbon monoxide were caused by the improper use of generators. The Texas Department of State Health Services issued that gasoline generators should not be used indoors. Fifty-four people were reported by the Texas poison centres to have storm-related carbon monoxide exposure. The Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society and The Center for Disease Control reported 15 people had to undergo hyperbaric oxygen treatment for carbon

title: Animal Care Centers of NYC
text: New York Daily Newspublished an article entitled "City animal shelters see boost in adoptions and drop in euthanasia" citing various improvements to the condition and care of shelter animals. AC&C still has to euthanize almost 5,000 animals a year due primarily to illnesses from poor ventilation in the shelter, as indicated by shelter director Risa Weinstock during the shelter's quarterly meetings. In the following news release of April 19, 2015, by the office of New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer, an extensive list of concerns found during an audit of NYCACC cited mismanagement of medications, expired medications, and storage of

title: Miracle Dog
text: Miracle Dog Miracle Dog: How Quentin Survived the Gas Chamber to Speak for Animals on Death Row is a non-fiction book written by Randy Grim. Published in February 2005 by Blue Ribbon Books, the book details the story of a dog named Quentin, who survived fifteen minutes in a carbon monoxide gas chamber at the St. Louis, Missouri animal shelter in 2003. Grim, the president and founder of Stray Rescue of St. Louis, adopted the dog and used his story to campaign against the use of the gas chamber for Animal euthanasia and to support no-kill animal shelters. As a

title: No-kill shelter
text: no-kill community in Kentucky through a joint effort of the county shelter and the Shelby Humane Society. In March 2010, the Austin City Council unanimously passed a resolution for the City's open-admission shelter to achieve a 90% save rate of all impounded animals. The City Council mandated, among other things, that the City shelter was prohibited from killing healthy, adoptable pets while there were empty cages at the shelter. From 1998 to 2011, the euthanasia rate of animals that entered the Austin, TX, city shelter went from 85% to less than 10%, and as of 2011 Austin is the largest

title: Intel
text: 2003 but an emission factor allowed Intel to report no carbon tetrachloride emissions for all of 2003. Another resident alleges that Intel was responsible for the release of other VOCs from their Rio Rancho site and that a necropsy of lung tissue from two deceased dogs in the area indicated trace amounts of toluene, hexane, ethylbenzene, and xylene isomers, all of which are solvents used in industrial settings but also commonly found in gasoline, retail paint thinners and retail solvents. During a sub-committee meeting of the New Mexico Environment Improvement Board, a resident claimed that Intel's own reports documented more

title: Carbon monoxide poisoning
text: effects of poisoning before gas levels became critical for the workers, and so gave an early warning of the problem. The canary in British pits was replaced in 1986 by the electronic gas detector. As part of the Holocaust during World War II, German Nazis used gas vans at Chelmno extermination camp and elsewhere to kill an estimated over 700,000 prisoners by carbon monoxide poisoning. This method was also used in the gas chambers of several death camps such as Treblinka, Sobibor and Belzec. Gassing with carbon monoxide started in action T4, the programme developed by the Nazis in Germany

title: Animal rescue group
text: their homes for temporary placement. Some organizations (such as Old Dog Haven) work with older animals whose age would likely cause them to be euthanized in county pounds. Each year, approximately 3-4 million cats and dogs are euthanized in shelters due to overcrowding and a shortage of foster homes. In the United Kingdom, both shelter and rescue organisations are described using the blanket term "rescue", whether they have their own premises, buy in accommodation from commercial kennels, or operate a network of foster homes, where volunteers keep the animals in their homes until adoption. Kennels that have a council contract

title: Carbon monoxide
text: of the air that caused harm when inhaled. In 1776, the French chemist produced CO by heating zinc oxide with coke, but mistakenly concluded that the gaseous product was hydrogen, as it burned with a blue flame. The gas was identified as a compound containing carbon and oxygen by the Scottish chemist William Cruikshank in 1800. Its toxic properties on dogs were thoroughly investigated by Claude Bernard around 1846. During World War II, a gas mixture including carbon monoxide was used to keep motor vehicles running in parts of the world where gasoline and diesel fuel were scarce. External (with