No to tambucho-gassing

MANILA, Philippines - The Committee on Animal Welfare (CAW) has again brought up the issue of tambucho-gassing.

I was informed that at the recent of CAW meeting, Dr. Enrique Carlos, CAW chairman, distributed a list of US states that allow and those that don’t allow “carbon monoxide” gassing.

Anna Cabrera of the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) clarified at the meeting that, “Carbon monoxide gassing in the US does not use tambucho or vehicle exhaust fumes.”

 We wonder why the CAW chairman brought the issue up since, as far as we know, tambucho-gassing has been dumped by the Department of Agriculture as of August 23. There was a CAW meeting, where a majority vote had already decided that tambucho-killing (the use of vehicle exhaust fumes) was to be deleted.

The tambucho-killing provision in the Administrative Order in the Euthanasia of Animals is dead.

I was told that Carlos argued that, at the meeting presided by the Philippine Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PSPCA) Veronica Javier,  as vice chair,  the deletion of tambucho provision was invalid since the conduct of the whole meeting “was not correct.”

 He said it would be better to let the signed AO stay (the one which allows tambucho killing) and wait until the new Association of Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Euthanasia Guidelines come out.

 We wonder what is the purpose of waiting for new AVMA guidelines when, we were told, that at the previous deliberations chaired by Dr Carlos, he did not follow the old AVMA guidelines where it explicitly states that “vehicle exhaust fumes are not allowed” as a euthanasia procedure. 

 Again, the “gassing” that is allowed in some states in the US use pure carbon monoxide gas in cylinders — not tambucho gas.

The “carbon monoxide” being mentioned in AVMA refers to gassing via pure carbon monoxide cylinders, not vehicle exhaust fumes. Using vehicle exhaust fumes — whether gas, diesel, leaded or unleaded — is not humane.

What seems quite obvious is that someone at CAW is trying to resurrect the tambucho-kill provision.

No to cruelty. No to tambucho-gassing.