Brunswick County Board of Health talks animal euthanasia

Animal euthanasia headlined the agenda at Monday night’s Brunswick County Board of Health meeting in Bolivia.

Brunswick County currently uses euthanasia by injection for companion animals. But for safety reasons, the county uses a gas chamber for wild animals.

Several Brunswick County residents voiced concerns about the gas chamber Monday night, but Health Director Don Yousey said the animals will not suffer.

“Carbon monoxide is the chemical of choice for people who want to kill themselves, for people who have cancer. They go in their garage, get in their car and they start it because once the hemoglobin is displaced with carbon monoxide, taking all the oxygen out of the hemoglobin – when your brain gets short of oxygen you pass out, you go to sleep and you die. You do not suffer. That is a misnomer to call this a gas chamber for suffering. They do not suffer,” described Yousey.

Yousey said the county intends to start using the refurbished chamber next week, once it meets new state standards.