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Bill aims to relieve animals of suffering from disease, injury
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Posted on Apr 11 2023
House of Representatives floor leader Rep. Edwin K. Propst (D-Saipan) has introduced a bill that aims to relieve animals of unnecessary suffering from disease, illness or injury, and provide trained personnel with a painless method for handling the task.
Propst’s House Bill 23-34 seeks to establish and authorize the use of drugs and controlled substances for euthanasia by animal control agencies and humane societies.
Several other representatives co-sponsored the legislation.
The bill proposes to amend the Commonwealth Code to add a new chapter pertaining to animal control. Under the bill, an animal control agency is designated by a mayor to enforce laws and ordinances regulating the care, control, licensing, or treatment of animals. Such agency may also euthanize or destroy animals and sedate animals prior to euthanasia.
Approved drugs for use must be approved by the American Veterinary Medical Association for use on animals for the purpose of sedating animals prior to euthanasia for use in chemical capture programs.
Controlled substances refer to a drug, substance, or chemical as defined by the Drug Enforcement Agency and used to anesthetize or euthanize animals using methods in accordance with the American Veterinary Medical Association.
The lawmaker stated in the legislation that Saipan, Rota, and Tinian have local animal control laws focused on dogs, but that these laws lack a uniform, modern process for handling animal euthanasia.
He said people of CNMI have a responsibility to ensure that any method used to euthanize an animal be quick and painless and in accordance with Veterinary Medical Association Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals.
