Coalinga ends carbon dioxide euthanasia of stray animals

Coalinga, believed to be the last city in California using carbon dioxide gas to euthanize stray animals, ended the practice Friday after a $5,000 grant from The Humane Society of the United States and donations from the San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Coalinga police Chief Michael Salvador said the grant and donations will be used to modernize his department’s animal control shelter near Claremont Custody Center. It will now use euthanasia by injection, the industry standard.

The shelter has 28 kennels and employs one full-time and one part-time animal control officer.

Assembly Bill 2505 was introduced in February to outlaw the use of carbon dioxide to kill dogs and cats in California. Salvador plans to testify in support of the bill on the Assembly floor.

This story was originally published June 3, 2016 at 5:44 PM with the headline "Coalinga ends carbon dioxide euthanasia of stray animals."