CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — A Georgia state inspector cited Clayton County Animal Control for breaking Georgia’s euthanasia rules, then removed the violation the same day.
The county’s own drug logs show its only veterinarian used a controversial method, one that could cause animals to feel pain, more than 90 percent of the time.
Clayton County animal shelters are publicly funded, but the public isn’t allowed inside. Only staff and state prisoners on work duty are permitted to enter, and no volunteers are employed. The only way to see what’s happening to the animals are through records requests and internal cameras.
A Georgia Department of Agriculture (GDA) inspection report obtained by Atlanta News First Investigates revealed the state issued Clayton County Animal Control a violation on March 11, 2026, for not following state euthanasia protocols by using the state’s least recommended way to put animals down in the majority of cases…