On September 10, 2025, 14 shelter workers and multiple animals at the Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter in Billings, Montana, were poisoned by methamphetamine smoke.

Why? Because a “partner agency” — later confirmed to be working with city law enforcement — burned meth inside the building’s shared incinerator, filling the shelter with toxic smoke for nearly an hour.

This isn’t just a horrifying mistake — it’s a catastrophic failure of public responsibility.

Staff had no idea that narcotics were being incinerated in the shelter building. 

Several workers were hospitalized and required hyperbaric oxygen treatment. Shelter animals were evacuated, bathed, and treated, with some still under veterinary supervision.

The shelter building is now uninhabitable for weeks, displacing all animals to emergency housing.

For years, staff raised concerns about smoke wafting into the shelter — only to be told that “evidence” was being destroyed. No one told them “evidence” meant meth.

This is not acceptable. It must never happen again.

We call on:

• Billings Mayor Bill Cole and City Council to permanently prohibit drug incineration in shared-use buildings.
• The Montana Department of Labor and State Attorney General to launch a full investigation into city negligence.
• The City of Billings to relocate the animal shelter to a facility that is independent, safe, and properly equipped.
   

Shelter workers should not risk chemical exposure to care for animals. And animals — especially those recovering from trauma, illness, or injury — should not be subjected to narcotic smoke in what should be a place of healing.

What happened in Billings was not just a public health disaster — it was a betrayal of trust.