PRIOR PRINTER'S NOS. 394, 1431 PRINTER'S NO. 1884
No. 350 Session of 1983
INTRODUCED BY MURPHY, RYAN, COWELL, CALTAGIRONE, TRELLO,
MICHLOVIC, VAN HORNE, GREENWOOD, DAWIDA AND DONATUCCI,
MARCH 1, 1983
AS AMENDED ON THIRD CONSIDERATION, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
OCTOBER 4, 1983
AN ACT
1 Relating to euthanasia of pet animals; prohibiting certain
2 methods of euthanasia; and requiring certain training in the
3 administration of drugs; and providing penalties.
4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5 hereby enacts as follows:
6 Section 1. Prohibited means of euthanasia.
7 No animal shall be euthanized by means of a high altitude
8 decompression chamber or decompression device.
9 Section 2. Methods of euthanasia.
10 (a) Required method.--The required method of euthanasia
11 shall be by the administration of an overdose of a barbiturate,
12 barbiturate combinations, drug or drug combinations approved for
13 this purpose by the Federal Drug Administration and in
14 accordance with guidelines established by the Pennsylvania
15 Department of Agriculture.
16 (b) Authorized method.--Nothing in this act shall prevent a
17 person or Humane Society organization from euthanizing a pet
1 animal by means of firearms.
2 Section 3. Administration of drugs.
3 The barbiturates, barbiturate combinations or other Federal
4 Drug Administration approved drugs or drug combinations shall be
5 administered by intravenous, intraperitoneal or intracardiac
6 injections or orally by a licensed veterinarian or by a person
7 trained in the proper restraint, handling determination of death
8 and injection by the methods approved in this section by a
9 licensed veterinarian. The training shall be at least four hours
10 in duration and the person shall be certified as competent, in
11 writing, by that veterinarian.
12 Section 4. Exclusions.
13 Sections 2 and 3 of this act shall not apply to a medical
14 school or school of veterinary medicine or a research
15 institution affiliated with a hospital or university.
16 Section 5. Existing USE OF carbon monoxide euthanasia systems. <--
17 Section 2(a) of this act shall not apply in cases where any <--
18 Humane Society organization or any other similar organization
19 currently utilizes carbon monoxide gas in euthanizing animals
20 and use of the carbon monoxide euthanasia system meets the
21 following requirements:
22 (1) Carbon monoxide gas shall not be used MAY BE USED TO <--
23 PERFORM EUTHANASIA on animals under the age of eight weeks. <--
24 SEVEN WEEKS OF AGE OR OLDER. <--
25 (2) CHLOROFORM, ETHER, HALOTHANE OR FLUOTHANE MAY BE
26 USED TO PERFORM EUTHANASIA ON ANIMALS UNDER SEVEN WEEKS OF
27 AGE WHEN ADMINISTERED IN AN AIRTIGHT CHAMBER OR TRANSPARENT
28 PLASTIC BAG PROVIDING FOR SEGREGATION OF ANIMALS BY SIZE AND
29 AGE WHICH IS CAPABLE OF PERMITTING UNOBSTRUCTED VISUAL
30 OBSERVATION AND WHICH DOES NOT PERMIT DIRECT CONTACT WITH ANY
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1 DEVICE CONTAINING CHLOROFORM.
2 (2) (3) Carbon monoxide gas systems shall consist of and <--
3 be equipped with:
4 (i) A tightly enclosed cabinet for the purpose of
5 containing the animals during the euthanasia process.
6 (ii) Internal lighting and a window for direct
7 visual observation in the cabinet at all times.
8 (iii) A gas generation capable of achieving a
9 concentration of carbon monoxide gas of at least 5%
10 throughout the cabinet.
11 (iv) A gauge or gas concentration indicator or
12 recording device.
13 (v) A means of separating animals from each other
14 within the cabinet, if the cabinet is of sufficient size
15 to facilitate more than one animal.
16 (vi) A means of fully removing the carbon monoxide
17 gas from the cabinet upon completion of the euthanasia
18 process.
19 (vii) If an internal combustion engine is used, a
20 means of cooling the gas to a temperature not to exceed
21 115 degrees Fahrenheit at the point of entry into the
22 cabinet and not to exceed 90 degrees Fahrenheit at any
23 point in the cabinet as determined by temperature gauges
24 permanently installed at point of entry and inside the
25 cabinet.
26 (viii) If the gas is generated by an internal
27 combustion engine, a means of removing or filtering out
28 all noxious fumes, irritating acids and carbon particles
29 from the gas before it enters the cabinet.
30 (ix) If an internal combustion engine is used, a
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1 means of substantially deadening the sound and vibration
2 transmission from the engine to the cabinet, by placing
3 them in separate rooms or soundproof compartments
4 connecting them with flexible tubing or pipe at least 24
5 inches in length, so that the noise level within the
6 cabinet shall not exceed 70 decibels.
7 (x) If an internal combustion engine is used, a
8 means for exhausting the internal combustion engine gas
9 during the period of engine warmup.
10 (3) (4) Upon completion of the euthanasia process, <--
11 animals shall not be removed from the cabinet until the
12 carbon monoxide gas has been fully removed from the cabinet.
13 SECTION 6. EXISTING DEVICES. <--
14 ANY HUMANE SOCIETY ORGANIZATION OR ANY OTHER SIMILAR
15 ORGANIZATION WHICH, ON THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS ACT, HAS IN
16 ITS POSSESSION A CHAMBER OR DEVICE, THE USE OF WHICH IS
17 PROHIBITED BY THIS ACT, SHALL, WITHIN 30 DAYS OF THE EFFECTIVE
18 DATE OF THIS ACT, DISMANTLE AND RENDER INOPERATIVE THE CHAMBER
19 OR DEVICE.
20 Section 6 7. Penalty. <--
21 Any person or organization found guilty of violating the
22 provisions of this act shall be fined not to exceed $250 per
23 violation day.
24 Section 7 8. Effective date. <--
25 This act shall take effect in six months.
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