With the longstanding debate over the ethics of the use of euthanasia machines continuing to rage on amongst members of the animal control community, the leadership of the Cass County Animal Control have announced they will discontinue use of their own device by next year.

Director Michael Grice has announced that, by Jan. 1, 2016, the county agency will cease the use of its euthanasia machine, and instead will perform termination of animals under its custody exclusively by lethal injection.

The director’s decision to discontinue use of the controversial method of animal euthanasia, referred to some as “gassing,” has been a long time coming, Grice said. Though the practice continues to be endorsed by the American Veterinary Medical Association, other humane and animal protection societies have condemned the use of such machines, causing many Michigan animal shelters to discontinue their use, Grice said.

“It was a battle you could legally win,” the director said. “But was it good from a public relations standpoint? No, it wasn’t.”

The euthanasia machine has been employed by Cass County animal control technicians since 1992. The device employs the use of carbon monoxide to put down animals placed inside of it, which puts most animals to sleep in seconds, allowing them to pass away painlessly, Grice said.

“It’s only a manner of minutes, and they’re deceased,” he said.

These machines have been under fire from animal rights activists for years, who claim that, despite claims from animal control officers, the process is painful and inhumane, the director said.

Cass County Animal Control has been shifting away use of the device for years. While it was formerly employed in close to 70 percent of all terminations at the shelter, as of last year, it only accounted for 25 percent of the 1,195 animals put down in the county, with the others euthanized by lethal injection, Grice said.

“It’s not family pets we’re doing it to,” he said. “It’s the animals we couldn’t handle; the ones who will bite your face off just for looking at them.”

Despite their reduced reliance on the method, Grice and his staff of animal control officers continue to support the use of euthanasia machines, he said. With pressure from animal rights groups growing and even proposed legislation in the Michigan Senate calling for the elimination of euthanasia machines in state animal shelters, though, they have decided to follow suit with other animal control agencies in the region and place the practice out to pasture, Grice said.

“We just decided it was time,” Grice said. “There’s no reason for us to be the last ones standing.”