Today a superior court judge ordered the State Department of Agriculture to follow Georgia law. The Fulton County judge issued an injunction to require the Agriculture department to prevent animal shelters from using gas chambers. The judge did allow exemptions for counties with fewer than 25,000 people, and cases where animals pose extreme danger. Plaintiffs argued that the Agriculture Department has never enforced the gas chamber ban since it passed in 1990. Commissioner of Agriculture Tommy Irvin testified that he believes the law is unclear and that local governments should be able to decide their policies.
