{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-4-4-501","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 4, § 4-501","heading":"Disposal of animals kept for pleasure - Method","body":"A. Any dog, cat or any other animal which is kept for pleasure\n\nrather than utility in or about a household, held by or in the\n\ncustody of a private or public animal shelter or agency and not\n\nreclaimed by the owner, may be disposed of only by:\n\n1. Adoption as a pet in a suitable home;\n\n2. Delivery to a licensed educational or research institution\n\nin accordance with the provisions of Sections 391 through 402 of\n\nthis title; or\n\n3. Euthanasia by only one of the following methods:\n\na. administration of denatured sodium pentobarbital,\n\nb. the use of a carbon monoxide chamber, using\n\ncommercially compressed cylinder gas; provided that\n\nkittens and puppies under sixteen (16) weeks of age\n\nshall not be euthanized with carbon monoxide but with\n\ninjections of denatured sodium pentobarbital, or\n\nc. any other method approved by the Animal Industries\n\nServices Division of the State Department of\n\nAgriculture which shall include current acceptable\n\neuthanasia recommendations from the American\n\nVeterinary Medical Association, with the exception of\n\ncurariform derivative drugs. The following\n\nrequirements must be met to ensure the euthanasia\n\nagent is humane:\n\n(1) the method should be as painless as possible to\n\nthe animal as determined by the best available\n\nmedical and scientific knowledge and technology,\n\n(2) the animal should be kept as free from anxiety\n\nand fear as possible,\n\n(3) the technique should be:\n\n(a) simple enough to be used by relatively\n\nunskilled personnel,\n\n(b) legally available to all animal shelters and\n\nhumane societies,\n\n(c) as mechanically simple and maintenance free\n\nas possible within reasonable cost, and\n\n(d) physically safe for personnel using it.\n\nB. Death should be confirmed by cessation of vital signs.\n\nProfessional judgment should be used in consideration of the animal\n\nspecies and method of euthanasia to determine the means of\n\nconfirming death.","path":["OK Code","Title 4"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os4.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"cf4254f8ad3d21a6b78f96890e60b542943c1ef2f5b46acd40e982f5df4550ba","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-4-4-499.9","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-4-4-502"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}