The Hardin City Council will discuss solutions for an estimated 1,000 feral cats in the city Tuesday night, but one option is off the table: euthanization using gas.
Watch Hardin feral cats story here:
Hardin City Councilman George Toyne brought up the tough topic at last week's city council meeting, with the city facing a concerning feral cat crisis.
The suggestion was made to use a gas chamber to euthanize the cats, but groups like Help Every Pet in Hardin and several others opposed this idea.
A Facebook post from Hamster Boy and Tiger Lily Rescue states: “5 days in a cage, no chance, no voice, no one coming. And then — death in a gas chamber."
Toyne told MTN News late Thursday afternoon that now is no longer an option.
“The city has become aware that the law does not allow gas euthanization of animals,” Toyne said. “That will not be a method used.”
“Not a preferred alternative at all,” Dave Pauli, who is with the Greater Good Charities, said about gas euthanizing. “lt's not in the best interests of the critter, and it's much harder on the human who has to perform the procedure because basically you're depriving that animal of oxygen.”
Pauli previously worked for the Humane Society of the United States for 35 years.
When he worked for Billings Animal Control in the 1980s, gas euthanizing was being phased out.
He says it's a method that uses either carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide.
“This is depriving them of oxygen, the animal gets frantic, paws, scratches, urinates, defecates,” said Pauli. “It's just not humane euthanasia.”
Pauli and many pet rescues across the country prefer methods called trap, neuter, return, or TNR.
“Doing TNR, you can have a pretty good stable population of animals that are healthy and better for the community,” Pauli said.
Pauli says vaccinations can also be done before returning cats to where they were trapped.
While much more humane, the cost could be a barrier.
Councilman Toyne says that method would cost $100,000 for the estimated 1,000 feral cats in Hardin.
But the pushback from the community is real, and council members say the city is ready to work with all groups to find the answer.
