Editorial: We need to get tough over unsterilized pets

http://www.abqtrib.com/albq/op_edito...641515,00.html
I'd love to see this happen all over the country!

Editorial: We need to get tough over unsterilized pets
March 22, 2005

Tribune readers most likely shook their heads last week, as we did, at the article reporting that thousands of unwanted pets are killed each year at crowded public and private animal shelters.

But, as Tribune Features Editor J.M. Baról's front-page report "Too many animals" said on Wednesday, the hard reality is head-shaking has changed very little over the years.

Albuquerque needs to become outraged.

The sad truth is we all need to do something about this. We need to break the cycle of allowing cats and dogs to reproduce when there are no homes for their offspring and they end up being euthanized.

Experts recommend expanding pet-owner education programs. There certainly is plenty of room for that. State and local officials should adopt ongoing education programs that stress the importance of spaying and neutering pets.

Yes, Albuquerque has spent decades encouraging spaying and neutering, with poor results. So maybe it's time to go to the next level. Based on its experience, perhaps Albuquerque should require, by law, that owners neuter their domestic pets or pay a costly tax or fine.

City Councilor Sally Mayer is pushing an ordinance that would require owners of unsterilized pets to pay a $150 "litter permit" because of the likelihood an unsterilized pet will have a litter or two.

Perhaps - in addition - if pet owners who can be proved to have allowed their unsterilized pets to roam, they should be subjected to additional costs, maybe even a misdemeanor charge and a stiff fine, based on the assumption their stray cats and dogs sooner or later will find a mate and reproduce.

That such extremes now are necessary is supported by the staggering realities of irresponsible pet ownership.

Among the distressing numbers reported by Baról:

90,763 - the minimum number of animals received each year by New Mexico public and private animal shelters, minus the number reclaimed as lost by their owners.

45,000 - the number of animals euthanized each year.

$14.8 million - the amount spent by animal control agencies annually across the state.

$18 million to $28 million - the range of estimated costs for a state-run neutering program for five years.

Perhaps most staggering number is 67,000 - the number of dogs that can be produced in six years by one unspayed female and her offspring.

The dimensions of this problem are exceeding not only the capacities of local and state governments, but the humanity of the people those governments represent.

It's time to hold the culprits - people, not their pets - accountable for their inhumane treatment of dogs and cats.

http://www.abqtrib.com/albq/nw_local...625846,00.html

The "litter permit" idea might make some headway. Though I'd be inclined to raise the amount substantially though. Registered breeders could get a discount perhaps. The idea is certainly worth looking at.

I think the litter fee idea would backfire. why? if someone cannot afford to neuter their pet then they cant afford to pay the litter fee, if they cant afford either then they would have to give up the dog, and all of a sudden we have a lot more homeless dogs. a better idea I think would be low cost spay neuter clinics all over the place not just 1 or 2 in select areas, I know here there is no such thing, so anyone who cannot afford it, wont.

Yeah, the cost of spaying & neutering would have to come down to have any real effect. I guess the point would be that it's going to cost a lot of money if the don't get fixed. So better to get it done.

Perhaps with the new drug Neutersol that will sterilize male dogs, we might see some progress in this area within our lifetime. I also think that there are a great many low to no cost spay/neuter iniatives for lower-income people, so in many cases it would be cheaper to alter the animal rather than pay a fine. In our area, lower income people can have a cat fixed for about $25-$30 and a dog for $50-$75. The government should be stepping in as well. It has been proven that for every $1 spent in spay/neuter - $5 is saved in other costs.

One area I think it would have some impact on is BYB. If people had to pay a "litter fee" before they breed their dog - it might make them think twice about it.

JMHO