An Oklahoma animal shelter that faced backlash earlier this week for euthanizing stray dogs by shooting them has halted all killings for the time being, pending a review.

"We probably should have handled this with the vets involved, you know, instead of taking actions the way we had done," Mayor Leonard Washington of Bristow, Oklahoma, said in an interview with Mashable. "That's why I've suspended all euthanizations as of right now, so we can make sure that we do the process the way it's supposed to be."

Oklahoma state law requires that euthanasia treatments are conducted in a "humane" manner, but the law does not supply a definition for "humane." That means the shootings are technically legal, although it has still sparked outrage in the small community.

The Bristow Animal Shelter — the sole shelter operating in a town with a population of about 4,000 — is staffed by one animal control officer, George Moore, who had been shooting the pups. Within the last two weeks, three dogs were euthanized using that method, with a gun that that the mayor nor the police department provided, Washington said.

Washington went on to explain that the "problem" was caused by an influx of stray dogs that were roaming the streets. For now, the shelter is letting residents adopt animals free of charge in order to clear space in the kennel.

"We're trying to make sure we don't have an overabundance of dogs in our dog pound because we can only have ten at one time, so that's a problem," Washington said. He ultimately concedes that "mistakes were made," but that the town was in the process of trying to correct them.

According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, the use of gunshot to euthanize an animal is only condoned in extreme circumstances, such as when an animal is under intense, prolonged pain and there is no veterinarian present, or if the animal poses a threat to human life. Even then, however, the AVMA recommends that the shooting be performed by "highly skilled personnel" trained in the use of firearms and with veterinary oversight. No veterinarian was present or had been contacted about the shootings that occurred in the last week, Washington confirmed.

Whether or not the three animals who were gunned down were dangerous has been in dispute, as has Moore's training with firearms. Some residents said that the practice has been ongoing for sometime and that Moore is not properly trained, while others have said that the shootings were necessary and not a regular occurrence.

"If I have my way, the dog catcher will never shoot another animal," Bristow resident Letha Caudle, who helped start a Change.org petition urging town administrators to halt the practice, told Mashable in a Facebook message.

Beth Roberts, another resident who took issue with the shootings and campaigned to stop them, said that she was satisfied with the steps that town officials were taking, but she is adamant that a veterinarian should be in consult for all future euthanasia treatments.

"I'm very pleased with the halt of euthanasias until further notice," she said in an interview with Mashable. "But after finding out that the animal control officer has not been to euthanasia [training] and has not been certified to do it, I don't feel comfortable with him doing any of them. They need to be referred to a licensed veterinarian."

Moore could not be reached for comment but Mayor Washington confirmed Moore had not been trained in euthanasia techniques.

Roberts, who has been criticized by community members for speaking to the media, said that being vocal about the issue is worth it if it provides animals with more humane treatments in the future.