Lethal injection for problem dogs preferred
Public pressure is behind an independent panel’s recommendation to the Invercargill City Council to favour lethal injections when euthanising dogs.
The panel presented a report to a meeting of the regulatory services committee yesterday that revealed that 95.15 per cent of public submissions supported the intravenous method.
While lethal injection was the preferred method, captive bolt was still acceptable for dogs presenting significant risks to staff.
Panellist Eric Oostendorp said their recommendation came ‘‘purely from the public perspective, and the veterinary perspective may be different’’.
Aspects of euthanasia by lethal injection could be difficult also, he said.
‘‘It’s not completely stress free, and it’s not always as simple as people perceive it to be ... a lot of members of the public have seen their own animal euthanised and found it very peaceful.’’
Lethal injection involves a barbiturate being given to a dog intravenously following sedation, while a captive bolt gun euthanises a dog by shooting a pin into the animal’s brain.
Oostendorp said their investigation found the previous use of captive bolt technology to euthanise dogs, ‘‘although controversial and emotive’’, to not be inhumane.
Massey University professor of veterinary science Kevin Stafford provided the panel with a report on humane euthanasia methods.
This report concluded that captive bolt, gunshot, gassing, or lethal injection were all humane methods of putting down dogs if done correctly.
Stafford said in the report that using captive bolt technology humanely relied on the skill of the shooter, and on the dog being restrained to allow the gun to be correctly position on the animal’s skull.
Last September, an inspection of the animal control department by the Ministry for Primary Industries found the facility to be up to code. However, the ministry said the use of captive bolt guns was not necessarily best practice, and recommended the council to consult with a vet.
The council halted usage of the controversial technology in September 2017 after a video of the procedure was made public. The advisory panel was made of six members of the public appointed by the council.
Public feedback was sought through an online survey which received 516 responses, and also held three drop in sessions for face to face feedback.
Expert advice was sought from several sources, including council staff, the SPCA, the New Zealand institute of Animal Management, and the New Zealand Veterinary Association.
Committee chairwoman Rebecca Amundsen said the city council would hold a workshop on April 16 for councillors to consider the report and decide their course of action.