[candyraver69]

Guess I'll have to try the fumes on myself for a few seconds to really know for sure if it makes eyes and nose burn. I'll update you on that soon.

I've heard the horror stories about the shelters, but I gotta say I think a lot of the stories we hear are about shelters that do it WRONG to save money and time. The American Veterinary Medical Association was pretty clear in their reports about euthanasia that it's a good choice for an anesthetic:

"Inhalation of CO2 at a concentration of 7.5% increases the pain threshold, and higher concentrations of CO2 have a rapid anesthetic effect."

"Several investigators have suggested that inhalation of high concentrations of CO2 may be distressing to animals, because the gas dissolves in moisture on the nasal mucosa. The resulting product, carbonic acid, may stimulate nociceptors in the nasal mucosa. Some humans exposed to concentrations of around 50% CO2 report that inhaling the gas is unpleasant and that higher concentrations are noxious. A brief study of swine examined the aversive nature of CO2 exposure69 and found that 90% CO2 was aversive to pigs while 30% was not. For rats, exposure to increasing concentrations of CO2 (33% achieved after 1 minute) in their home cage produced no evident stress as measured by behavior and ACTH, glucose, and corticosterone concentrations in serum."

To summarize that- the report it saying if too much CO2 is introduced too fast, yeah it may not feel so great. You have to slowly increase the CO2 level to out the animal to sleep without causing pain and discomfort. Obviously there is a margin of error involved, but there is with cervical dislocation as well (breaking the neck), as if it's done wrong it can hurt the animal badly without killing it. All I know is I would much rather be knocked out with gas than be beat against a hard surface or have a sharp object pry my head off at the neck- I guess to each his own but it's certainly not a "humane" way to die in my opinion.

Anyways, Ema I sincerely apologize for even bringing it up at this point, as I was only trying to present another option and it seems I have turned your thread into an argument about the ethics of different ways of euthanasia rather than "suggestions" like it was originally intended.

I respect everyones opinion even if I don't share it.