Upset animal lovers Margaret Payton (left), Sinead Dempsey and Rachel Beamsley were outside the district council building protesting against gassing dogs yesterday. "It's archaic,'' said 17-year-old Sinead. "We don't hang people in the streets any more for a quick death.''
Margaret, Sinead's mother, said they heard on the news this morning
about unwanted dogs being gassed in the pound instead of injected, and she picked Sinead up straight after school to go protest.
"It's an old and dated method,'' said Ms Payton. "Our animals don't need to suffer like that.''
They said the practice was legal but ``morally wrong''. "Wanganui should show New Zealand we don't need this barbaric method.'' Of the protest she said: "We're not here to be aggressive or pushy or rude, we're just here to make people aware of what's happening.''
Facebook comments overwhelmingly expressed outrage that the council was gassing dogs.
Tui Andrews: I worked for the council many years ago and have watched the the process they used to gas the animals back then. Those animals died a horrid death.
Carolyn Press (Upper Hutt): These dogs do not deserve to die because they had the misfortune of having ignorant owners followed by the misfortune of living in a town with an ignorant council. Shame on you for putting cost ahead of dignity and stop gassing the innocent!
Daniel Hunia (Wanganui): Animals can't speak for themselves. Are criminals gassed to death because we don't want them on the streets? No, so why do it to an innocent animal?
