Sumner County District Attorney Ray Whitley has asked the county sheriff’s department to investigate claims of illegal practices by a Gallatin veterinarian hired by the county to euthanize animals at the county’s animal control facility.

The allegations are the result of a privately funded undercover investigation, according to Peggy Olea, a local animal advocate who says she is the spokesperson for seven local nonprofit organizations which funded the investigation.

According to Olea, a former Sumner County jail inmate secretly shot video that shows veterinarian William Baber performing a procedure known as intercardiac euthanasia, a method in which sodium pentobarbital is injected directly into an animal’s heart.

The procedure is not illegal, but state law requires animals to be sedated, anesthetized or comatose before the lethal injection is administered.

Allegations are that animals at the county facility were not sedated prior to the use of the procedure.

In an earlier interview, Baber admitted he used the method to euthanize animals that were not sedated, but said he did not know it was illegal.

“Until (Wednesday) I was unaware that we need to change one of the ways we euthanize animals,” he said.

Additionally, Olea alleges that the private investigation reveals that Baber took animals he claimed to have euthanized and sold them to an “undercover operative” working with the group.

Whitley said he was out of his office last week and learned of the allegations from news reports by local media.

Whitley and Sheriff Bob Barker said they still have not had a chance to review evidence that allegedly supports the claims, and that no evidence - including video aired by local televisions stations - has been presented to the district attorney’s office or the Sumner County Sheriff’s Department.

“At this point the Tennessee Department of Health and the board (that licenses veterinarians) is conducting an investigation,” Whitley said.

According to Sumner County Executive Hank Thompson, Baber is no longer euthanizing animals at the county facility. He also denied rumors that he intends to close the facility.

The reports of alleged inhumane treatment of animals has unleashed a firestorm of protests among animal advocates in Sumner County and around the state.

On Monday, a crowd of about 35 animal rights advocates protested in front of the Sumner County Administration Building and carried signs accusing Baber of animal cruelty.

Sumner County’s Animal Control shelter reopened Tuesday after being closed to the public because of death threats made to employees.

Robert Steele, office manager at the shelter, said he logged between 50 and 60 threats on Friday and Monday.

“I’ve been here 11 years, and I’ve never seen anything like it. People have cussed us and called us ‘killers,’ then they’ve said they’re going to bring a gun to shoot us.”

Other rumors that Richard Bennett, Sumner County Animal Control director has resigned his position are also untrue, according to Thompson.