Utah Legislature: Animal euthanasia not limited to lethal injection

SALT LAKE CITY — Unwanted pets in Utah can be euthanized in any manner deemed best by local shelters, the Utah Senate decided Thursday.

Senators voted down a bill that would have limited euthanasia in public shelters to lethal injection. The 15-9 vote against SB218 came Thursday on the Senate floor after the bill passed out of the House with a 33-vote margin.

Sen. Allen Christensen, R-North Ogden, said during floor debate that it was wrong to force all localities to use the same method to dispose of unwanted companion animals. The negative vote leaves the door open for methods such as drowning, shooting and suffocating several animals at once in a single cage.

But the 2010 legislative session wasn't a total loss for pets and the people who care for them.

A bill passed that forces shelters to check ID tags and call owners before killing pets. The same bill lets shelters decide whether unwanted pets will be sent to research facilities.

State leaders also voted to require addition of a bittering agent in antifreeze sold in the state. The legislation came about after a dog ingested the sweet-tasting automotive chemical and died.

Both the shelter bill, HB107, and the antifreeze bill, SB218, await the governor's signature.

— Rebecca Palmer