diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 36cfadb..260d731 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 ### 0.5.0 (Next)
 
+* [#40](https://github.com/dblock/slack-gamebot/issues/40): Disable animated GIFs via `SlackRubyBot::Config.send_gifs` or ENV['SLACK_RUBY_BOT_SEND_GIFS'] - [@dblock](https://github.com/dblock).
 * `SlackRubyBot::Server` supports `restart!` with retry - [@dblock](https://github.com/dblock).
 * `SlackRubyBot::Server` publicly supports `auth!`, `start!` and `start_async` that make up a `run` loop - [@dblock](https://github.com/dblock).
 * Extracted `SlackRubyBot::Server` from `SlackRubyBot::App` - [@dblock](https://github.com/dblock).
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index f6b1365..ea0fac5 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ A typical production Slack bot is a combination of a vanilla web server and a we
 
 The following examples of bots based on slack-ruby-bot are listed in growing order of complexity.
 
-* [slack-bot-on-rails](https://github.com/dblock/slack-bot-on-rails): A bot running on Rails and using React to display Slack messages on a website. 
+* [slack-bot-on-rails](https://github.com/dblock/slack-bot-on-rails): A bot running on Rails and using React to display Slack messages on a website.
 * [slack-mathbot](https://github.com/dblock/slack-mathbot): Slack integration with math.
 * [slack-google-bot](https://github.com/dblock/slack-google-bot): A Slack bot that searches Google, including CSE.
 * [slack-aws](https://github.com/dblock/slack-aws): Slack integration with Amazon Web Services.
@@ -201,6 +201,16 @@ module MyBot
 end
 ```
 
+### Disable Animated GIFs
+
+By default bots send animated GIFs in default commands and errors. To disable animated GIFs set `send_gifs` or `ENV['SLACK_RUBY_BOT_SEND_GIFS']` to `false`.
+
+```ruby
+SlackRubyBot.configure do |config|
+  config.send_gifs = false
+end
+```
+
 ### Message Loop Protection
 
 By default bots do not respond to their own messages. If you wish to change that behavior, set `allow_message_loops` to `true`.
diff --git a/lib/slack-ruby-bot/commands/base.rb b/lib/slack-ruby-bot/commands/base.rb
index a08b4b7..605d9fc 100644
--- a/lib/slack-ruby-bot/commands/base.rb
+++ b/lib/slack-ruby-bot/commands/base.rb
@@ -100,13 +100,13 @@ def self.finalize_routes!
 
       def self.get_gif_and_send(options = {})
         options = options.dup
+        keywords = options.delete(:keywords)
         gif = begin
-          keywords = options.delete(:keywords)
           Giphy.random(keywords)
         rescue StandardError => e
           logger.warn "Giphy.random: #{e.message}"
           nil
-        end
+        end if SlackRubyBot::Config.send_gifs?
         client = options.delete(:client)
         text = options.delete(:text)
         text = [text, gif && gif.image_url.to_s].compact.join("\n")
diff --git a/lib/slack-ruby-bot/config.rb b/lib/slack-ruby-bot/config.rb
index 221e396..a30acbf 100644
--- a/lib/slack-ruby-bot/config.rb
+++ b/lib/slack-ruby-bot/config.rb
@@ -10,5 +10,31 @@ module Config
     attr_accessor :team
     attr_accessor :team_id
     attr_accessor :allow_message_loops
+    attr_accessor :send_gifs
+
+    def allow_message_loops?
+      allow_message_loops
+    end
+
+    def send_gifs?
+      v = boolean_from_env('SLACK_RUBY_BOT_SEND_GIFS')
+      v.nil? ? (send_gifs.nil? || send_gifs) : v
+    end
+
+    private
+
+    def boolean_from_env(key)
+      value = ENV[key]
+      case value
+      when nil
+        nil
+      when 0, 'false', 'no'
+        false
+      when 1, 'true', 'yes'
+        true
+      else
+        fail ArgumentError, "Invalid value for #{key}: #{value}."
+      end
+    end
   end
 end
diff --git a/lib/slack-ruby-bot/hooks/message.rb b/lib/slack-ruby-bot/hooks/message.rb
index 82164de..0316f1a 100644
--- a/lib/slack-ruby-bot/hooks/message.rb
+++ b/lib/slack-ruby-bot/hooks/message.rb
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ module Message
 
       def message(client, data)
         data = Hashie::Mash.new(data)
-        return if !SlackRubyBot::Config.allow_message_loops && (client.self && client.self['id'] == data.user)
+        return if !SlackRubyBot::Config.allow_message_loops? && (client.self && client.self['id'] == data.user)
         data.text.strip! if data.text
         result = child_command_classes.detect { |d| d.invoke(client, data) }
         result ||= built_in_command_classes.detect { |d| d.invoke(client, data) }
diff --git a/spec/slack-ruby-bot/commands/send_message_with_gif_spec.rb b/spec/slack-ruby-bot/commands/send_message_with_gif_spec.rb
index eb9d321..05cc9bc 100644
--- a/spec/slack-ruby-bot/commands/send_message_with_gif_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/slack-ruby-bot/commands/send_message_with_gif_spec.rb
@@ -29,4 +29,32 @@ def app
     expect(SlackRubyBot::Commands::Base).to receive(:send_client_message).with(client, channel: 'channel', text: 'message')
     app.send(:message, client, text: "#{SlackRubyBot.config.user} send_message_with_gif_spec message", channel: 'channel', user: 'user')
   end
+  context 'send_gifs' do
+    context 'set to false' do
+      before do
+        SlackRubyBot::Config.send_gifs = false
+      end
+      it 'does not send a gif' do
+        expect(Giphy).to_not receive(:random)
+        expect(SlackRubyBot::Commands::Base).to receive(:send_client_message).with(client, channel: 'channel', text: 'message')
+        app.send(:message, client, text: "#{SlackRubyBot.config.user} send_message_with_gif_spec message", channel: 'channel', user: 'user')
+      end
+      after do
+        SlackRubyBot::Config.send_gifs = nil
+      end
+    end
+    context 'set to false via SLACK_RUBY_BOT_SEND_GIFS' do
+      before do
+        ENV['SLACK_RUBY_BOT_SEND_GIFS'] = 'false'
+      end
+      it 'does not send a gif' do
+        expect(Giphy).to_not receive(:random)
+        expect(SlackRubyBot::Commands::Base).to receive(:send_client_message).with(client, channel: 'channel', text: 'message')
+        app.send(:message, client, text: "#{SlackRubyBot.config.user} send_message_with_gif_spec message", channel: 'channel', user: 'user')
+      end
+      after do
+        ENV.delete 'SLACK_RUBY_BOT_SEND_GIFS'
+      end
+    end
+  end
 end
diff --git a/spec/slack-ruby-bot/config_spec.rb b/spec/slack-ruby-bot/config_spec.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ed7489d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/slack-ruby-bot/config_spec.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+require 'spec_helper'
+
+describe SlackRubyBot::Config do
+  context 'send_gifs?' do
+    context 'default' do
+      it 'is true' do
+        expect(SlackRubyBot::Config.send_gifs?).to be true
+      end
+    end
+    context 'set to false' do
+      before do
+        SlackRubyBot::Config.send_gifs = false
+      end
+      it 'is false' do
+        expect(SlackRubyBot::Config.send_gifs?).to be false
+      end
+      after do
+        SlackRubyBot::Config.send_gifs = nil
+      end
+    end
+    context 'set to false via SLACK_RUBY_BOT_SEND_GIFS' do
+      before do
+        ENV['SLACK_RUBY_BOT_SEND_GIFS'] = 'false'
+      end
+      it 'is false' do
+        expect(SlackRubyBot::Config.send_gifs?).to be false
+      end
+      after do
+        ENV.delete 'SLACK_RUBY_BOT_SEND_GIFS'
+      end
+    end
+    context 'set to true' do
+      before do
+        SlackRubyBot::Config.send_gifs = true
+      end
+      it 'is false' do
+        expect(SlackRubyBot::Config.send_gifs?).to be true
+      end
+      after do
+        SlackRubyBot::Config.send_gifs = nil
+      end
+    end
+    context 'set to true via SLACK_RUBY_BOT_SEND_GIFS' do
+      before do
+        ENV['SLACK_RUBY_BOT_SEND_GIFS'] = 'true'
+      end
+      it 'is false' do
+        expect(SlackRubyBot::Config.send_gifs?).to be true
+      end
+      after do
+        ENV.delete 'SLACK_RUBY_BOT_SEND_GIFS'
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end