MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. -- The Martin County Sheriff’s Office has wrapped up an investigation into allegations of improper euthanasia practices at the Humane Society of the Treasure Coast.
Investigators found no criminal activity, but questions have been raised about whether state laws could be strengthened to do more to protect animals set to be euthanized.
“I think if you read the statute, you could come away with the impression that the legislature could do a better job by providing even more protection for animals that have to be euthanized,” said Martin County Sheriff William Snyder.
Snyder says his detectives interviewed about 40 current and former volunteers and employees of the Humane Society of the Treasure Coast regarding euthanasia practices over the last two months.
“There was a question in our investigation as to were the best practices used,” Snyder said.
According to state law, there are three ways animals can legally be euthanized. They are listed in a preferred order, but not a mandatory order.
The first recommendation is using a shot into a vein. They second is using a shot into the body cavity. The last preferred option is using a shot into the heart, when the animal is unconscious.
Detectives found the the shot into the heart wasn’t always the last option for employees at the animal shelter. However, that is not illegal.
Other concerns were raised when numerous people told detectives that corneal reflex checks were not being used consistently to determine if an animal was unconscious before delivering the painful shot into the heart.
However, state law only says there should a be a check to make sure the animal is sedated or unconscious. There is no clear requirement as to the type of check that should be done. Some employees mentioned they would tap an animals head, or pinch their toes to determine if they were conscious.
There were no exact dates or times specified for when the corneal reflex checks may have been overlooked, or surveillance video to document the allegations. Therefore, detectives could not conclude a crime was committed.
Other complaints included putting animals, mainly cats, to sleep in front of other animals moments before they were also euthanized. That is also not illegal.
“There was no evidence that there was any criminal misconduct,” Snyder said.
In their investigation, the CEO for the Treasure Coast Humane Society, Frank Valente, told detectives policies have changed since the start of the investigation.
Prior to the investigation, the policy stated that employees must first “verify sedation”. Now, the policy states clearly that the employees must verify sedation by corneal reflex.
Additionally, Valente told detectives that prior to the investigation, only one person had to be documented making the decision to euthanize. Now, two or even three people make the decision as a team.
Detectives also found some of the employees who euthanize the animals were certified to do so before 2012 and are not required by law to be certified again, or take additional training.
The law requiring the corneal reflex check was put into place in 2012, meaning that was not a policy when some employees were certified.
