Euthanasia: the act or practice of killing or permitting the death ofhopelessly sick or injured individuals (as persons or domestic animals) in a relatively painless way for reasons of mercy. (Webster’s 10th Collegiate Dictionary).
The vast majority of animals killed in pounds are not hopelessly sick or injured, and yet so many of the e-mails I receive, articles and rescue posts I read, or people I hear speaking about animals in the pound who are about to be killed say that they are going to be “euthanized.” This is not euthanasia. Being killed when you are healthy or treatable and want very much to live is not a “good death” (the literal meaning of the word).
I would like to appeal to everyone involved in rescue and animal advocacy (and everyone else for that matter) to stop using the wordeuthanasia when describing an animal who is not terminally ill or irremediably suffering, but is being killed by the “shelter” only for ostensible lack of space.
The vast majority of animals killed in pounds are not hopelessly sick or injured, and yet so many of the e-mails I receive, articles and rescue posts I read, or people I hear speaking about animals in the pound who are about to be killed say that they are going to be “euthanized.” This is not euthanasia. Being killed when you are healthy or treatable and want very much to live is not a “good death” (the literal meaning of the word).
I would like to appeal to everyone involved in rescue and animal advocacy (and everyone else for that matter) to stop using the wordeuthanasia when describing an animal who is not terminally ill or irremediably suffering, but is being killed by the “shelter” only for ostensible lack of space.
Posted by Tina Clark
