What are some humane ways to kill a wild San Antonio animal in a cage?

While we may always wish the outcome of trapping a wild San Antonio animal will be a safe relocation to a wild environment in which the animal may thrive, relocation is not always an option for a few reasons. One might be that the habitat of the creature in question is suburban and relocation to a wild habitat would be counterproductive as the animal would not thrive in the wild. Another, scarier reason for not being able to relocate an animal is if the animal is obviously diseased or rabid.



In this case, a Texas animal control professional will have to euthanize the animal for the safety of those involved and the environment in question. For more information on diseased animals and animal handling, read our article here.

The unfortunate business of euthanizing a San Antonio animal is one that should never be undergone by an amateur. As in the case of relocating or trapping an animal, there are regulations regarding animal euthanasia set forth by the American Veterinary Medical Association or AVMA.

Though there are other ways to euthanize a Texas animal (animals used for lab testing are sometimes killed via carbon monoxide poisoning), a more common method of euthanizing an animal is via a barbiturate, more particularly, a specific barbiturate called pentobarbital. Barbiturates are drugs that act on the central nervous system of an animal to suppress functioning. The drug is injected directly into the heart, but takes about a quarter of an hour to kill an animal, so it is usually only administered to a sedated animal. Other drugs used for euthanizing animals are ketamine and Propofol. If any of these sound familiar to you, it may be because some people are known for abusing ketamine as a recreational drug, while barbiturates are used in SSRI’s and other behavior medications. Since the effects of these drugs vary based on the dosage and animal in question, only licensed professionals may utilize them to euthanize an animal.

In some states and some counties, it is legal to shoot a San Antonio animal though, again, it is often only legal if you are a professional (i.e. an animal control officer). If your state or county allows civilians to shoot wild animals on their property, the most humane way to perform said killing is with a bullet straight between the eyes. There’s a reason for the old Western movie cliché—a bullet between the eyes will kill an animal quickly and relatively painlessly. If you don’t trust your aim, a captive bolt pistol is a gun that drives a sharp bolt quickly into the head of an animal. It is used to euthanize cows for humane killing by industries or individuals who are permitted to do so.

If killing a caged Texas animal is not something you can do on your own, especially without risking the unnecessary pain or suffering of the animal in question, it is better to call an animal control officer or animal control professional.

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