News Release: For Immediate UseContact Person: Jeff Dorson (HSL Director, 901-268-4432)July 28, 2009Humane Group Documents Problems at Vermilion Animal Shelter GroupAsks for Gas Chamber to be Discontinued and Improvements Made(Abbeville, LA) -- The Humane Society of Louisiana recently toured the Vermilion Parish Rabies Control Center, located at 11303 Pioneer Road, in Kaplan, and submitted its four-page report to parishadministrators. The group, which has been inspecting animal shelters for the past 20 years, evaluated the operations at the parish-run shelter and centered its findings and concerns on three principle areas: the shelter’s method of euthanasia, the facility’s adoption protocol, and the substandard housing of felines.
The Humane Society of Louisiana has a long history of tangling with government officials in Vermilion Parish. The group, then known as Legislation in Support of Animals, filed an injunction against the rabies control board back in 1991 for allegedly mistreating their sheltered animals. The case was eventually heard in 1993 by Judge Jules Edwards, who ruled that the parish must comply with the state animal cruelty statutes and maintain certain basic standards of care.
“During our recent inspection, we were shocked to discover that the parish has been and continues to use a gas chamber that is not properly functioning. The chamber’s door is ajar and cannot be sealed properly without bracing it with a screwdriver. The chamber also sits at a tilt, so its effectiveness is definitely in question,“ says Jeff Dorson, Executive Director of the Humane Society of Louisiana. “We were told that the employees often have to run the chamber’s cycle twice, in order to kill the animals placed inside. This is a terrible ordeal for the animals subjected to this treatment and for the employees forced to watch,” adds Dorson.
Besides questioning the effectiveness of the current chamber, the issue of using carbon monoxide to kill surplus animals is also being questioned by a discerning public on a national scale. “The public no longer wants animals to be gassed to death. It is an unpleasant experience for the animals, for the employees, who are forced to administer these toxic fumes, and for the citizens who pay for this outdated and unpopular method of killing surplus animals. Plus, the parish has been knowingly using a chamber that is in disrepair and probably has not performed its basic functions adequately. Carbon monoxide chambers must be routinely calibrated, cleaned regularly, maintained, tested, and kept in excellent condition. We seriously question if this administration has adequately maintained this outdated machine to perform the tasks demanded of it,” remarks Dorson.
Within its report, the group has filed a formal public records request to review the chamber’s maintenance records and any and all repair work orders.
“We have been told that the parish administration just authorized the procurement of another gas chamber for more than $17,000. The only acceptable way to euthanize sheltered animals in the 21st century is by lethal injection. I believe that if this administration wishes to continue using outdated methods and equipment, they will hear from people from around the country within a very short period of time. We have withheld publishing our report publicly, hoping that the administration would reach out to us to discuss these sensitive issues. But since we have not received a response within a reasonable period of time, we are releasing our findings to the public so they can form their own opinion on the operations of this shelter” adds Dorson.
The humane society also found fault with the shelter’s short and confusing animal adoption procedures and the substandard housing conditions of the shelter’s feline population. Dogs and cats are not adopted from the shelter. All adoptable animals are turned over to a local humane society called Animal Aid for Vermilion Area, which, in turn, oversees the adoption of animals. “This is a very confusing protocol that does not seem to serve a viable purpose,“ says Dorson."I am not familiar with any other shelter doing business like this in the entire state. As a public facility, it would make sense that the public be allowed to adopt any animal of its choice, rather than going through a second party,“ Dorson says.
The group also found many problems with the housing of the shelter’s feline population. Many of the shelter cats are housed in several large wire and wooden cages. The cages, because of their construction, cannot be properly cleaned or disinfected, according to Dorson. According to the humane society’s report, all cats kept in this type of housing environment are exposed and susceptible to numerous infectious diseases. Unless they are nursing cats with kittens, cats should be isolated until adopted, reclaimed, or euthanized, or only placed in a group housing setting if the area is clean and the cats have been vaccinated. Group housing of cats in this manner is deemed unacceptable by national shelter guidelines.
The Humane Society of Louisiana, based in New Orleans, is one of the largest humane organizations in the state with more than 10,000 supporters. The group advocates for the humane treatment of animals and operates the Dixieland Animal Care and Evacuation Center in Tylertown, Mississippi. For more information on its programs and services, please visit their website at
http://www.humanela.org/ or call1-888-6-humane.
