What is animal euthanasia?

Answer 1

The killing of animals for humanitarian or other reasons such as culling etc.

Euthanasia refers to the practice of ending a life in a painless manner.

Euthanasia may be conducted with consent (voluntary euthanasia) or without consent (involuntary euthanasia). Involuntary euthanasia is conducted where an individual makes a decision for another person incapable of doing so. The decision can be made based on what the incapacitated individual would have wanted, or it could be made on substituted judgment of what the decision maker would want were he or she in the incapacitated person's place, or finally, the decision could be made by assessing objectively whether euthanasia is the most beneficial course of treatment. In any case, euthanasia by proxy consent is highly controversial, especially because multiple proxies may claim the authority to decide for the patient and may or may not have explicit consent from the patient to make that decision

Animal euthanasiais the act of inducing humane death in an animal. Euthanasia methods are designed to cause minimal pain and distress. Pets are almost always euthanized by intravenous injection typically a very high dose of a barbituate such as pentobarbital. Unconsciousness, respiratory distress and then cardiac arrest follow rapidly, usually within 30 seconds. Observers generally describe it as a quick and peaceful death. Sometimes the animal makes a gasping sound after the death, which is air being exhaled by the lungs. The animal may twitch for a moment or urinate. Some vets perform a two stage euthanasia which an initial injection renders the pet unconscious and the second ends their life.

According to the American Humane Society an estimated 9.6 million animals are euthanized in the United States every year. Out of 1,000 shelters responding to a survey, 2.7 million of 5.3 million animals or 64% were euthanized. 56% of dogs and 71% of cats that enter shelters were euthanized. 15% of dogs and 2% of cats were reunited with their owners; 25% of dogs and 24% of cats were adopted. The majority of these are euthanized at animal shelters, typically after a standard period of time (ranging from several days to several weeks for unclaimed stray animals).

Answer 2

If the animal is in pain and cannot live a sustainable and healthy life then yes. If the animal can get nothing out of life but pure survival then it is not a very fulfilling life. An animal may long to survive however this is an impulse that encourages it to make a difference while alive like repopulate. I believe that if an animal is medically unable to be happy or experience things then it has already lived its life to the fullest.