Pregnant dogs and cats being killed in a gas chamber. Puppies and kittens under four months old breathing in carbon monoxide until they die. Stray animals being gassed to death within minutes of their arrival. Animals being killed by people who aren't certified to euthanize them.

These are just some of the egregious findings of investigations into the Lincoln County Animal Services shelter facility in North Carolina, which utilizes the gas chamber. 

In 2007, North Carolina state and county officials both declared the shelter unfit for animals and unhealthy for the public. After a management shakeup, a new 1.2 million dollar facility, and a few lawsuits, you'd think things would be looking up.

Not so much.

In December 2010, the current shelter manager and her boss were effectively terminated. The shelter failed inspections based on the violations listed above and more, and based on inaccurate (and falsified) record keeping, showing that technicians who weren't certified to euthanize animals were killing them anyway, and showing that adoptions were granted to people who may have used fictional names.

Things need to change in Lincoln County, and fast. With the search for new management should come a commitment to doing away with the gas chamber. Though the Department of Agriculture has put a temporary hold on the use of the chamber, more permanent measures need to be put into place by Lincoln County to ensure that animals are never gassed in the facility again.

Lincoln County Manager George Wood and the Interim Animal Services Director plan to recommend to the County Commissioners at their January 24th meeting that the gas chamber be permanently removed.

Tell the Commissioners that you support the recommendation to end gassing in Lincoln County — the homeless and abandoned animals of Lincoln County have no time to waste. 

Photo credit: Michelle Hodkin