Animal rights advocates from across Kansas converged Monday on the Statehouse in support of legislation to protect pets, including the elimination of carbon monoxide chambers used to euthanize animals.

“Legislators are recognizing that animal welfare is a high priority issue that enjoys bipartisan support from Kansas voters,” said Midge Grinstead, Kansas director of the Humane Society of the United States. Grinstead is the former director of the local humane society.

Humane Lobby Day participants were meeting with state legislators, urging passage of Senate Bill 57, called the Kansas Pet Animal Act.

The bill would establish annual inspections of licensed pet breeding facilities, shelters, research facilities and other licensees, and end the use of carbon monoxide chambers that are currently used to euthanize animals in certain shelters. The Humane Society says that a direct lethal injection is the most humane method of euthanasia available. Nineteen states have banned carbon monoxide chambers.

Kansas ranks 33rd in The Humane Society of the United States’ 2012 rankings of animal protection laws.