WHY MANDATORY SPAY AND NEUTER IS NOT A SOLUTION
It seems that both the well intentioned animal lovers, perhaps influenced by the HSUS and PETA activists, always come up with mandatory spay and neuter as the answer to overpopulation. But they just refuse to do their research.
Last year we had the opportunity to speak frankly to one politician's former Chief of Staff about the fact checking process in Sacramento. He said there is none; they rely on the person who brings the statistics to be informed and honest. Since the thought of animals in shelters being destroyed is so emotional, there is even less scrutiny.
If you are going to read only one article about the implications of mandatory spay and neuter, we recommend this one by Nathan Winograd.
The City of Los Angeles; Santa Cruz County; San Mateo Montgomery County, MD; Fort Worth, TX; Camden County, NJ; King County, WA; Aurora, CO; and Pinelles County, FL are all examples of places that have seen euthanasia increase and licensing and rabies compliance go down. Many of these municipalities have repealed their laws.
What happens when there is no law. Well, in California euthanasia of dogs has dropped more than 55% in 10 years.
When a statewide bill was proposed in 2007, the veterinarians in the California Veterinary Medical Association demanded that their President, Ron Faoro disassociate them from the bill. They did not support it. The actual author of that bill may be trying to get Senator Dean Flores to introduce a similar bill in 2009.
There are many things we need to do in California to help improve the declining curve of euthanasia:
It is inappropriate to consider mandatory spay and neuter, which has failed in so many places, when we bring in dogs to add to the problem and statistics. California taxpayers are paying the price
Last year we had the opportunity to speak frankly to one politician's former Chief of Staff about the fact checking process in Sacramento. He said there is none; they rely on the person who brings the statistics to be informed and honest. Since the thought of animals in shelters being destroyed is so emotional, there is even less scrutiny.
If you are going to read only one article about the implications of mandatory spay and neuter, we recommend this one by Nathan Winograd.
The City of Los Angeles; Santa Cruz County; San Mateo Montgomery County, MD; Fort Worth, TX; Camden County, NJ; King County, WA; Aurora, CO; and Pinelles County, FL are all examples of places that have seen euthanasia increase and licensing and rabies compliance go down. Many of these municipalities have repealed their laws.
What happens when there is no law. Well, in California euthanasia of dogs has dropped more than 55% in 10 years.
When a statewide bill was proposed in 2007, the veterinarians in the California Veterinary Medical Association demanded that their President, Ron Faoro disassociate them from the bill. They did not support it. The actual author of that bill may be trying to get Senator Dean Flores to introduce a similar bill in 2009.
There are many things we need to do in California to help improve the declining curve of euthanasia:
- Don't try to solve dog and cat problems together. Cats comprise 70% of the animals euthanized. They can live apart from humans far more easily than dogs. The Cat Fanciers Association is a great resource for people who are concerned about cat issues.
- Require some form of permanent positive identification of dogs.
- Pass a fair law that would address repeatedly roaming dogs, both intact and altered (the altered dogs are in the majority). If dogs are repeat offenders, they are not owned by people responsible enough and they should not be intact.
- Stop importing shelter dogs from out of state. While most shelters have many dogs, some do not. These shelters need dogs; they are their product and the way they receive donations for operating expenses. Shelters needing dogs do not go to their fellow shelters; they bring in small and cute dogs from outside the county. So American dogs die.
- Stop importing unowned dogs from other countries shelters and rescue groups. We need to resolve our own issues first.
It is inappropriate to consider mandatory spay and neuter, which has failed in so many places, when we bring in dogs to add to the problem and statistics. California taxpayers are paying the price