Baze v. Rees
Q & A
12. How does euthanasia of animals by veterinarians compare to lethal injection?
The predominant method of animal euthanasia, and the one required by law in Kentucky, involves the injection of a single drug, sodium pentobarbital, which does not cause any pain to the animal upon administration, aside from venipuncture at the injection site. Amicus Brief of Drs. Kevin Concannon, Dennis Geiser, et al., at 4. When injected with an overdose of pentobarbital, a long-acting anesthetic, the animal quickly moves into a state of unconsciousness and then death. Id. In June 2007, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AMVA) published guidelines on the euthanasia of animals. The guidelines, which were written after an examination of a range of euthanasia methods, provide that whenever animal euthanasia is required, “death should be induced as painlessly and quickly as possible.” AMVA Guidelines on Euthanasia (June 2007)(formerly the 2000 Report of the AVMA Panel on Euthanasia), at 18. The AMVA also states that the ideal drug for use in euthanasia is a “potent, long-acting, stable” barbiturate. Id. at 11.
State and federal lethal injection protocols call for the injection of a three-drug combination administered in the following sequence: sodium thiopental (a short-acting anesthetic), pancuronium bromide (a neuromuscular blocking agent that paralyzes the individual) and potassium chloride (which causes death by inducing cardiac arrest). Brief for Petitioners, at 10-12. In contrast to the anesthetic used in animal euthanasia, the anesthetic used in lethal injection protocols is an “ultra short acting” barbiturate and the effects wear off much more rapidly. Amicus Brief of Drs. Kevin Concannon, Dennis Geiser, et al., at 15. The second drug in the lethal injection three-drug formula, pancuronium bromide, is banned by most states for use in animal euthanasia, including Kentucky, because it causes paralysis, inhibiting the ability to determine if the patient is experiencing pain during the procedure. Id. at 18.
The AVMA guidelines dictate that the use of potassium chloride -- the third drug administered under current state and federal lethal injection protocols -- is “unacceptable” and “absolutely condemned” unless the animal is “in a surgical plane of anesthesia,” defined as a level of anesthesia characterized by unconsciousness, loss of reflex muscle response and loss of response to noxious stimuli.” Amicus Brief of Drs. Concannon, Dennis Geiser, et al, at 10. The guidelines further state that, “[i]t is of utmost importance that personnel performing this [euthanasia by potassium] are trained and knowledgeable in anesthetic techniques, and are competent in assessing anesthetic depth appropriate for the administration of potassium chloride intravenously.” AMVA Guidelines at 12. Unlike lethal injections, where inmates routinely are left unattended while the drugs are administered from another room, veterinary professionals are required to be in close physical contact with the animal so that they can monitor vital signs, IV access sites and ensure that the animal does not experience pain or suffering during the process. See Amicus Brief of Drs. Concannon, Dennis Geiser, et al, at 12.
The veterinarians who filed the amicus brief emphasizes that the lethal injection protocol used by the states and federal government does not meet the minimum standards of care required of veterinarians in the humane euthanasia of animals. See Brief of Drs. Concannon, Dennis Geiser, et al., at 8. Their brief explains that veterinarians could not euthanize animals under the Kentucky lethal injection protocols for several reasons, including 1) the use of potassium chloride fails to comply with minimum veterinarian standards because the lethal injection protocol does not include safeguards to ensure that the patient is unconscious before the injection of the drug, which would cause excruciating pain if the subject is conscious and; 2) the use of pancuronium bromide, which completely paralyzes voluntary muscle movement, is prohibited for use in animal euthanasia in Kentucky because it prevents the assessment of a patient’s consciousness and serves no therapeutic purpose. Id. at 9-20.
For a detailed discussion of the methods used by veterinarians to humanly euthanize animals and the difficulties in achieving humane euthanasia using the three-drug lethal injection protocol, see Amicus Brief of Drs. Kevin Concannon, Dennis Geiser, et al.
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