PRINTER'S NO. 3528
No. 2417 Session of 2008
INTRODUCED BY KORTZ, SCAVELLO, BELFANTI, BRENNAN, CASORIO,
DONATUCCI, FRANKEL, GOODMAN, HARHAI, HENNESSEY, JOSEPHS,
McGEEHAN, MURT, O'NEILL, PALLONE, PETRONE, SCHRODER, SHIMKUS,
SWANGER, J. WHITE AND YOUNGBLOOD, APRIL 2, 2008
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND RURAL AFFAIRS,
APRIL 2, 2008
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of December 22, 1983 (P.L.303, No.83), entitled
2 "An act relating to destruction of pet animals; prohibiting
3 certain methods of destruction; providing for a limited
4 license to dispense certain drugs; providing for regulation
5 and enforcement; providing for use of certain surplus funds;
6 and providing penalties," further providing for prohibited
7 means of destruction of animals, for methods of destruction
8 of animals and for exclusions; and repealing provisions
9 relating to use of carbon monoxide systems.
10 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
11 hereby enacts as follows:
12 Section 1. Sections 1, 2 and 4 of the act of December 22,
13 1983 (P.L.303, No.83), referred to as the Animal Destruction
14 Method Authorization Law, are amended to read:
15 Section 1. Prohibited means of destruction of animals.
16 (a) General rule.--No animal shall be destroyed by means of
17 a high altitude decompression chamber or decompression device[.]
18 or a carbon monoxide gas system.
19 (b) Firearms.--No pet animal shall be destroyed by means of
20 a firearm.
1 Section 2. [Methods] Required method of destruction of animals.
2 [(a) Required method.--]The required method of destruction
3 shall be by the administration of an overdose of a barbiturate,
4 barbiturate combinations, drug or drug combinations approved for
5 this purpose by the Federal Drug Administration and in
6 accordance with guidelines established by the Pennsylvania
7 Department of Agriculture.
8 [(b) Authorized method.--Nothing in this act shall prevent a
9 person or humane society organization from destroying a pet
10 animal by means of firearms.]
11 Section 4. Exclusions.
12 (a) Dangerous pet animals.--Section 1(b) of this act shall
13 not apply to a pet animal:
14 (1) running at large and unaccompanied by its owner or
15 keeper on the public streets or highways of this Commonwealth
16 or on the property of a person other than the owner of such
17 pet animal; or
18 (2) located in a kennel or shelter setting;
19 if the pet animal poses a clear and present danger to a person,
20 property or another pet animal.
21 (b) Certain educational and research institutions.--Sections
22 2 and 3 of this act shall not apply to a medical school or
23 school of veterinary medicine or a research institution
24 affiliated with a hospital or university.
25 Section 2. Section 5 of the act is repealed:
26 [Section 5. Use of carbon monoxide systems.
27 (1) Carbon monoxide gas may be used to destroy animals
28 seven weeks of age or older.
29 (2) Chloroform, ether, halothane or fluothane may be
30 used to destroy animals under seven weeks of age when
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1 administered in an airtight chamber or transparent plastic
2 bag providing for segregation of animals by size and age
3 which is capable of permitting unobstructed visual
4 observation and which does not permit direct contact with any
5 device containing chloroform.
6 (3) Carbon monoxide gas systems shall consist of and be
7 equipped with:
8 (i) A tightly enclosed cabinet for the purpose of
9 containing the animals during the destruction process.
10 (ii) Internal lighting and a window for direct
11 visual observation in the cabinet at all times.
12 (iii) A gas generation capable of achieving a
13 concentration of carbon monoxide gas of at least 5%
14 throughout the cabinet.
15 (iv) A gauge or gas concentration indicator or
16 recording device.
17 (v) A means of separating animals from each other
18 within the cabinet, if the cabinet is of sufficient size
19 to facilitate more than one animal.
20 (vi) A means of fully removing the carbon monoxide
21 gas from the cabinet upon completion of the destruction
22 process.
23 (vii) If an internal combustion engine is used, a
24 means of cooling the gas to a temperature not to exceed
25 115 degrees Fahrenheit at the point of entry into the
26 cabinet and not to exceed 90 degrees Fahrenheit at any
27 point in the cabinet as determined by temperature gauges
28 permanently installed at point of entry and inside the
29 cabinet.
30 (viii) If the gas is generated by an internal
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1 combustion engine, a means of removing or filtering out
2 all noxious fumes, irritating acids and carbon particles
3 from the gas before it enters the cabinet.
4 (ix) If an internal combustion engine is used, a
5 means of substantially deadening the sound and vibration
6 transmission from the engine to the cabinet, by placing
7 them in separate rooms or soundproof compartments
8 connecting them with flexible tubing or pipe at least 24
9 inches in length, so that the noise level within the
10 cabinet shall not exceed 70 decibels.
11 (x) If an internal combustion engine is used, a
12 means for exhausting the internal combustion engine gas
13 during the period of engine warmup.
14 (4) Upon completion of the destruction process, animals
15 shall not be removed from the cabinet until the carbon
16 monoxide gas has been fully removed from the cabinet.]
17 Section 3. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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