ROCKPORT, Indiana — Authorities in southern Indiana are investigating allegations that an animal shelter has been freezing kittens to death as an alternative to accepted forms of euthanasia.
Bridget Woodson told the Courier & Press that she quit working at the Spencer County Animal Shelter and spoke to authorities after the animal control officer twice asked her to put injured but alive kittens in a plastic bag and then into a freezer to kill them.
“I had to do something,” Woodson said. “I’m super concerned about the animals. If this is deemed as acceptable and no one is held accountable, what else will start to slip through the cracks?”
Woodson shared with the newspaper a screenshot of a text exchange she said was between her and the animal control officer. During that exchange, Woodson claimed the officer told her that “the freezer is no less humane” than euthanasia by a veterinarian.
The officer did not respond to messages requesting comment.
The “slow chilling or freezing of unanesthetized animals” is an unacceptable form of euthanasia, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals.