California AB1634 Mandatory Spay/Neuter (MSN)
What should have been a good idea has now turned into an awful law. If you haven't actually read the bill, please don't defend it.
To see the bill and read it for yourself go here:
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/postquery?bill_number=ab_1634&
If you want to cut to the chase, go here to AKC's legislative info on this bill
To see information about pets "over population" issue check out the chart
http://saveourdogs.net/images/ratesgraph.jpg
To see more information which uses statistical study of the "over population" issue, go here to http://www.doggonecalifornia.org/ or here http://saveourdogs.net/population.html
Basically what you have is essentially over 95% of all pets in California never showing up in a shelter & a significant number, possibly 80% of the ones seen by vets who reported these pets were already neutered.
Out of the probable 4% that do turn up in shelters, possibly a total of 2% of California pet animals are euthanized but there are a few shelters that are "no kill" and some that average kill rates well below 1/2. Feral cats are a special problem. Don't have time to discuss that now. But try this link if you want to know more.
Keeping those proportions in mind, possibly 2 percent of all California cats and dogs are killed in shelters. One advocate of MSN said "Another argument that is widely used against legislation is that early age altering is detrimental to the health of the animal. Frankly, so is death in a shelter at the end of a needle. "
It is interesting that without the benefit of statistics, this rescue person chooses to place 2% population's "health" above the health of the remaining 98%. In other words, the greater good has lost its importance.
To see how this will affect law enforcement, see this letter that was sent to the Assembly to OPPOSE Mandatory Spay / Neuter
===================================
North American Police Work Dog Association
.Dedicated to Assisting Police Work Dog Teams Throughout the World.
Web site: http://www.napwda.com
E-mail address: ------
Jim Watson, National Secretary
4222 Manchester Ave.
Perry, Ohio, 44081
(440) 259-3169
(888) 422-6463 Toll Free & Fax
The California Assembly Business & Professions Committee
Re: California AB 1634
Introduced by Assembly Member Levine, (Principal coauthor: Senator Padilla)
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Nava)
March 21, 2007
To Whom it may concern,
I am the national secretary of the North American Police Work Dog
Association (www.napwda.com) and have been for the past 19 years.
We are one of the top two largest law enforcement work dog associations in
the United States and the 2nd oldest. We were formed in 1977 and currently
we have just under 4,000 law enforcement K9 officer members, from city
police departments all the through the federal system with members from the
FBI, CIA, DHS, ICE and the armed forces. Our association credibility is
unprecedented and our national certification testing and accreditation rules
are second to none. They have withstood the criminal court system challenges
and have always been upheld. We take all aspects of law enforcement K9 very
seriously.
We were contacted by concerned citizens of your state regarding AB 1634. We
as an organization have researched this proposal in great detail. We have
also been in contact with many of our California members and accredited
Master Trainer regarding AB 1634.
Lastly we brought this matter to the full attention of our national
Executive Committee. Every NAPWDA member and Executive Committee person
were in total agreement that AB 1634 is NOT a good bill nor will it do anything
other than to cause total harm to law enforcement K9. This proposal MUST BE
DEFEATED without question!
We have reviewed the information available from various groups and
organizations to date. We are in agreement with it. As this proposal relates
to Law Enforcement, we unanimously agree with the following statements:
A police service dog works with his human partner to search for and
apprehend criminal suspects. AB 1634 appears to have an exemption for
working police dogs, allowing an intact permit to be issued if the dog is
trained, or is documented as having been appropriately trained and actively
used by law enforcement agencies for law enforcement and rescue activities.
This is totally inadequate to protect law enforcement in California:
. Most of the breeding dogs that create working police dogs are not
themselves police dogs, but are bred and used in the protection dog sports
where their working abilities are tested. These dogs are pet dogs under the
law. Because they are not themselves police dogs, they would not be eligible
for an intact permit under this exemption. Most would not be eligible under
any exemption and so would have to be spayed or neutered.
. AB 1634 would only protect the current generation of working police dogs
from mandatory spay/neuter. Future generations would have to qualify for an
exemption by 4 months of age to avoid mandatory sterilization. But there is
no such thing as a 4 month old puppy who is "appropriately trained and
actively used by law enforcement". A dog has to mature into adulthood before
meeting that criterion. So future generations of police dogs would be
spay/neutered before they even became eligible for this exemption.
Spay/neuter cannot be undone, so the exemption doesn't help police dogs at
all.
. Nearly all working police dogs were once somebody's pet dog. They were
bought as a young pup, raised, but were rehoused as young adults. If they
pass all the working and health tests, eventually they may end up with a
police department. Few of these dogs come with registration papers. Because
working police dogs spent their first year or two of life as somebody's pet
dog, there's no way to create a bright line in the law between the future
supply of police dogs and other pet dogs. Most of these future police dogs,
perhaps nearly all, would be sterilized before even making it into police
work, if AB 1634 passes.
. A few breeding dogs or potential future police dogs might qualify for an
intact permit. The increased cost and bureaucratic hassle will cause many of
these pet owners not to bother, further reducing the availability of these
dogs. Remember, before a dog becomes a police dog, he's a pet.
. For police service work, nearly all of the dogs are intact males. There
may be no other K9 work where testosterone plays such an important role in
the development of the dog's working abilities. Because of the demonstrated
benefit of testosterone in the working ability of Law Enforcement dogs,
leaving even non-breeding males intact plays an important role in the
success of these dogs. The lives of police officers and citizens may be put
at risk by the reduced working ability resulting from early neuter. Neuter
these dogs when they are 4 months old, and it will massively reduce their
odds of growing up to be police service dogs. Few would make it.
It is already very difficult for law enforcement to find dogs who are
suitable for police work. A very large majority of dogs who are evaluated
fail to pass the screening tests. Dogs have to be imported from all over the
world just to supply the need in California. AB 1634 would make an already
difficult task many times more difficult. AB 1634 would increase costs to
the taxpayers to purchase dogs from a shrinking supply of suitable dogs.
Crime could increase as there would not be enough dogs to fill all the law
enforcement jobs.
So while it appears that AB 1634 has adequate protections for law
enforcement work, it does not. There's really no way to create a mandatory
spay/neuter law that would not do serious harm to law enforcement in the
state of California.
In closing, I must restate the official unanimous opinion of the North
American Police Work Dog Association that California AB 1634 is NOT a good
bill nor will it do anything other than to cause total harm to law
enforcement K9. This proposal MUST BE DEFEATED without question IMMEDIATELY!
If anyone has any questions please contact me at your convenience either via
my direct e-mail of -------- or the toll free phone number of
888.422.6463 .
Respectfully,
Jim Watson, NAPWDA National Secretary
NAPWDA Master Trainer, Utility & Narcotic Teams
State of Ohio K9 Evaluator
Mentor Police Department K9 Unit, Retired
Mentor, Ohio
============================
If you want the original or to see what the Rotweiller Club of America wrote, plus more, go here
The problem is that many pet owners are not aware of how the bill will affect them as pet owners or law abiding citizens. They haven't READ it. Many rescue workers and pet lovers were told, "this will be good for animals". Well yeah, of course, we all want that, but READ the bill.
Here's a couple letters from two different pet animal advocates
http://www.lodinews.com/
Above is excellent reading
This one is from NAIAonline.com which supports all animal interest
http://valleynews.com/
Patty Strand looks out for us!
Does MSN work? Here's the track record from around the country
I hate to see animals die for no good cause, but this legislation is not the right answer. Regulating the people that own the 90% of the dogs in the state for the actions of those that are under the radar of the law, is bad policy.
And the worst part of this is that the majority of groups supporting the bill have not read it.
As it stands, any puppy or kitten that is four months of age must be neutered. If it is a show dog or a rare breed, you are in deep doodoo. There is no provision as of the current writing of the bill to allow any cat or dog to get past four months of age with its gonads intact.
Anyway, I'm still really busy with other projects so if you don't see data above to study, do your own research please.
If you are concerned about this matter even if you are not Californian, there is a petition http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/414897802 -- While I have no great faith in petitions, the current one is not even a day old as I write and it is already well over a thousand 'signatures' world wide.
IF you are Californian and you haven't yet emailed/faxed or otherwise contacted the assembly members please do so.
They can be contacted with info from this link
Does Mandatory Spay/ Neuter Work?
SAN MATEO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA (ordinance passed in 1991)
• The ordinance requires spay/neuter of all dogs and cats in the unincorporated parts of the county unless the owner obtains an unaltered license or breeder’s permit. Chap. 8.02.090, Sec. 3332.4 (a) If an unaltered animal breeds accidentally, the owner must obtain a breeder’s permit. The license fee for unaltered animals is nearly twice that of spay/neutered cats and dogs. Any owner redeeming impounded unaltered animals must pay an additional fee. This fee is refunded if the animal is spayed or neutered within 30 days. Any unaltered animal impounded twice or more within a 3-year period will be altered at the guardian’s expense prior to redemption. Chap. 8.02, Sec. 3330.8 Penalties for violation include fines of up to $100 on the first offense, $200 on the second offense, and $500 for each additional violation of the same ordinance within one year.
• After the effective date of the ordinance, dog deaths in the areas governed by the ordinance, increased 126% and cats 86% while licenses declined by 35%. For the county as a whole dog deaths decreased 5% and cats 16% in 1993; in 1994 dog deaths declined 12% and cats 17%. From 1991-1994 there were no cat breeder permits and 50 permits for dog breeders, eight of which were renewals. In addition, licenses dropped dramatically. For 1998-99, the number dropped to 36,023, a dramatic decline from the 48,000-51,000 range of the previous two decades.
CITY OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA (ordinance passed in 2000)
• Requires the spay/neuter of all dogs and cats unless the owner has obtained a $100 annual unaltered animal or breeder’s permit. Sec. 53.15.2 For any dogs that breed, the owner must obtain a $100 annual breeder’s permit for each animal which allows 1 litter. A second litter during the annual permit period may be permissible “to protect the health of the animal[,] avert a substantial economic loss to the permittee” or "if the first litter was euthanized". A breeder must register all dogs bred for sale and disclose their name and permit number in any ad and on any sale documents. The city also tracks the identity of subsequent owners of the animals sold by breeders. There is a $91.50 license fee for unaltered dogs and a $6.50 charge for animals that have been spayed/neutered. Sec. 53.15.3 Violators are subject to fines of up to $500.00.
• Since the passage of this 2000 “spay or pay” Los Angeles ordinance, there has been a decline in dog licensing compliance. The animal control budget after passage of the law rose 269%., from $6.7 million to $18 million. The city hired additional animal control officers and bought new trucks and equipment just to enforce the new law.
***** I don't have time to highlight all the problems in below right now (might do it later), but I know this is a great community of thinking and observant, concerned pet owners. Please note the results of failure of MSN in every case below ******* This is not a complete list but the thing to take away from all of this is that Public policy should be based on the reasonable prospect of achievement of success, NOT on propaganda and poorly researched concepts.
CAPITOLA, CALIFORNIA ordinance joined SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CALIFORNIA's 1991 ordinance
• Requires spay/neuter of dogs with limited exceptions for breeding. Secs. 6.10.030, .050 The city requires a $15 certificate and charges twice the amount for a license for unaltered dogs. Dogs without the certificate must be spayed/neutered. There is a warning for a first offense, and a mandatory spay/neuter order is issued for a second violation.
• Since the law’s 1991 inception, licensing compliance has dropped significantly.
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MARYLAND (mandatory spay/neuter law was repealed)
• When the law was enacted, it was estimated that 550 breeding permits would be issued per year. In reality only an average of 30 permits were issued per year. There was an estimated 50% decline in licensing compliance.
• Although the euthanasia rate declined 21.5% after the ordinance was passed, it had declined 34% prior to enactment of the law. The Office of Legislative Oversight recommended in its 1997 report that the county eliminate the new breeder permit system and return to their former license fee structure. Under the current ordinance, Montgomery County requires a 3 year $75 license for unaltered animals and an annual $25 license for those that have been spayed/neutered; there are discounts for low income applicants for the license for a spayed neutered animal. Secs. 05.00.01.01, 05.401.01.02
FORT WORTH, TEXAS (ended its manadatory spay/neuter program)
• Licensing compliance fell off after passage of the ordinance. As a result there was a reduction in rabies vaccinations which lead to an increase in rabies in the city.
CAMDEN COUNTY, NEW JERSEY (ordinance passed in 1996)
• Mandatory spay/neuter ordinance required a $500 permit fee to possess an intact dog or cat. In 2000 it was changed to $10, because of there were so few requests for it. But then again in 2001 the permit fee was again raised to $100, its current rate. As for the euthanasia rates since the effective date of the ordinance, the PAWS NJ website comments, “An analysis of these statistics shows the Humane Society of Southern NJ which operates the Camden County Animal Shelter, to be consistently one of the leading, if not the leading killers of animals in the state of New Jersey.” The report covers 1998-2001, well after the effective date of the mandatory spay neuter ordinance. The site’s report on the top 50 New Jersey animal shelters reveals some in Camden County have significantly lower euthanasia rates than others in the state, but at least 2 had the highest kill rates in New Jersey.
KING COUNTY, WASHINGTON (ordinance passed in 1992)
• Requires all dogs and cats over 6 months old to be spayed/neutered unless the guardian buys an unaltered license for $60, $40 more than for an altered pet. Chap IV, Secs. 11.04.035, 11.04.210, 11.04.400. The ordinance provides for a breeder certification program. Sec. 11.04.570 It is illegal to advertise to King County residents the availability of any unaltered dog or cat without the animal’s license number; breeders, however, may advertise litters for sale. Chap. IV, Sec. 11.04.510. It is also illegal to sell or give away an unaltered animal in a public place or as a raffle or other prize. Sec. 11.04.235 Anyone selling or giving away an unaltered dog or cat must notify animal control in writing with the new owner's name, address, and telephone number. Sec. 11.04.570 There is also a provision for door to door canvassing to ensure compliance. Sec. 11.04.580
• License compliance has appeared to decrease since passage of the ordinance. Animal control expenses have increased 56.8% and revenues only 43.2%. In 1990 the total cost of animal control was $1,662,776; in 1997, it was $3,087,350. Euthanasia rates actually fell at a slower rate after passage of the ordinance. In the years prior to enactment of the law, euthanasia rates were plummeting in King County. The data shows that the one real success as a result of the ordinance was the increase in adoptions.
AURORA, COLORADO
• Requires breeder permits as part of its mandatory spay/neuter ordinance, licensing compliance has dropped dramatically. Secs. 14-42; 14-71(b), 14-101(a)(1). Pinellas County Florida has required breeder licensing since 1992. Sec. 14-29.
• Since then the animal control budget has increased 75% with revenue increasing only 13%. There have also been increases in shelter intake and euthanasia rates since the law took effect.
source: (scroll down below the map)
http://cfodconline.org/legislation.html
Also see what
http://network.bestfriends.org/ has to say about Mandatory Spay/Neuter.
Good ideas need to be examined for their merit. There is a track record for failure of MSN.
In cases cited where MSN has apparently "seemed" to work, such as Rhode Island, this is misleading because the population of euthanized pets had already dropped several fold before the MSN was implemented. And the current form of MSN only applies to cats and the data does not support that MSN works. Piggybacking on success and claiming it for all their own, is misleading and nothing more than propaganda.
Remember when we are talking about changing public policy, we need to demand that the evidence be examined before the legislation is adopted.
Framing the situation with the use of "Appeal to Emotion", profiling the pet owning population with a "Straw Man" argument, and instituting penalty fees and excise tax based on the above is not a democratic use of government policy.
A petition to OPPOSE AB 1634 (an analysis of what the bill really means)
http://network.bestfriends.org/anima...news/4108.html
If you are in California, you should contact the assembly and let them know you oppose because the bill is not based on factual information and data.
See the details and the Assembly member contact info at the bottom of the following AKC link:
http://www.akc.org/canine_legislatio...nter.cfm<br />
This is not about breeders vs rescue. This is about responsible government legislation based on factual information.
More links and resources at my blog under the label, animal_control
http://www.cobankopegi.com/blog/labe...l_control.html
Easy link to this specific posting for forwarding use
I now have official permission from the lead supervisor and scientist to use these captured images from the symposium slide show for this and multitude educational efforts. I will continue to ask people to go to the source to get original documents, as well.
http://www.acc-d.org/2006%20Symposiu...ession%20I.pdf
Edited to provide easy link to this specific posting number for other lobbying efforts and forwarding.
------------------- 8< ------ cut here ------ 8< -------------------
From: James Serpell <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: ATTN: Dr. James Serpell - Mandatory Spay Neuter as Law in
California?
Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 12:46:28 -0400
Dear Janice,
You are welcome to use the ACC&D presentation for your lobbying efforts.
The legislation appears to be ill-considered and premature considering
how little we know about the long-term impact of pediatric spay/neuter
on the health and behavior of dogs and cats. At 4 months of age, dogs
and cats are also too immature for us to be able to predict reliably
their adult temperament and physical soundness. The legislation as
written could therefore have a significantly adverse effect on our
future ability to select the best animals for breeding purposes.
You may quote me, if you like.
Kind regards,
James A. Serpell, PhD
Marie A. Moore Professor of Humane Ethics & Animal Welfare,
Director, Center for the Interaction of Animals & Society,
Department of Clinical Studies, School of Veterinary Medicine,
University of Pennsylvania.
------------------- 8< ------ cut here ------ 8< -------------------
If you have already studied these images, scroll below for further information......
Quote:
Originally Posted by SemaviLady
Additionally a significant collection of abstracts on spay/neuter and other important bill related issues can be found at http://www.ab1634.com/
It has now been shown without dispute that there is a need to research this matter more thoroughly because the outcome of the studies have not been promising in the support of pediatric S/N.
Realize that sensitized/reactive temperaments are among the things documented to be significantly increased with neuters. This involves pet animals that are part of children's lives throughout the STATE.
Furthermore, the bill endorses bulk production of animals for profit but seeks to control everyone else.
My initial letter of inquiry to Dr. Serpell included the following (in part):
The language of the law itself doesn't actually address the fact that there are no dogs at 4 months of age that qualify for the automatic higher permit fees and the only exemptions provided are continual 75 day renewals in coordination with a veterinarian up through the time that the dog can actually qualify for phenotype testing (2 years and more) such as orthopedic soundness (hips, elbows, shoulders, etc) correct character, working ethic, lack of sound and touch sensitivity (storms), etc. Dogs that are shown in conformation can only go to a show at 6 months, working dogs require more time for structural maturity, so entire litters of 5 to 15 puppies would be necessitate decision making at a point where all these things cannot be determined. The administrative issues will include vets and owners individually applying for repeated extensions of permit fees. This will include dogs used in police training, search and rescue, considerable impact.
Genetic diversity in purebreds will be affected since more decisions will be forced when an untested working dog is merely four months or less in age. The average COI's within breeds will be affected and protector alleles could further be lost.
<--snippage: bill information detail omitted-->
I have contacted local vets and apparently the California Veterinary Medical Association has filed an opinion in favor of the bill despite vets in the trenches feeling differently on the matter, and with malpractice insurance companies considering that state mandated neuter of pediatric animals will have far reaching implications. So I understand that they are not of one mind.
Basically, 90% of owned dogs in the state of California, never become part of the shelter overcrowding problem. The so-called overpopulation problem tends to be due to localized issues, since the entire state of Califonia has had significant drop in shelter statistics since 1970.
Statistics are available here:
http://www.doggonecalifornia.org/
I'm concerned about individual health and genetic soundness.
Thanks for your attention to this matter.
Go here to get reader friendly information on how to contact the Assembly on this bill. Faxes appear the be the best way to ensure that your position on the bill is counted.
Here is a direct link to the bill information itself.
Related, but not in California, I have been reading that the implementation of MSN in Albuquerque is proving to be a disaster.
MSN does NOT work:
http://network.bestfriends.org/anima...news/4108.html
California Healthy Pets Act *NOT!*
I had a little time last night to do some image captures from a couple more studies (studies that can be downloaded free from the links below), so that those that are interested can review these.
These studies are older than the one from which images I posted earlier in this thread. They are 1996 and 2002. based on publishing date (it can take a while to get papers published after the study is actually complete).
One scientist in the 1996 paper and the newer one previously referred (2006) is James A Serpell, PhD. who has work that has been published (2 dozen or more). This is inclusive of many papers in peer reviewed journals, some dated from the late 1980's up to the current time.
Info about James A. Serpell Ph.D.
Section Chief, Behavior and Human-Animal Interactions
Professor of Humane Ethics and Animal Welfare
Director, Center for the Interaction of Animals & Society
Department of Clinical Studies -Philadelphia
School of Veterinary Medicine
University of Pennsylvania
That is considerably more authority on the subject than a general practice vet, or anyone working for a spay clinic, to say little of an Animal Rights fanatic :D , . . . or absolutely ANY of the following people behind AB 1634 "California Healthy Pets Act"
Assembly Member Levine
(Principal coauthor: Senator Padilla)
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Nava)
...to say little of AB 1634 Campaign Director Judie Mancuso who is now on record saying that the opposition is "Spreading the word that [...] neuter and that spaying at 4 months causes medical issues (they really are desperate)."
Whatever her intent in her comment, this just goes to show that much of the information circulating about spay and neutering IS out of date and HAS been selectively acknowledged.
What do you think of selective acknowledgement? If if there are peer reviewed studies that have shown that a prescription drug seems to be causing serious problems to some people in the population, would you like to know what those problems are before someone you care for is put at risk? Here's one report about Zelnorm being taken off the market.
Apparently with the recent Melamine issues, some chose to ignore patterns that were becoming evident. So it is with spay and neuter.
How SELECTIVE do YOU as a pet owner want to be?
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) on its website, says "Spaying or Neutering Is Good for You" (seriously, that's what it says!) and that "Spaying and neutering makes pets better, more affectionate companions.".
(source: http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/wh..._your_pet.html)
Better? Better than what?
"Stepford Pets" anyone? :rolleyes:
Okay, two studies:
Vol. 11, 1434–1440, November 2002 Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention
Endogenous Gonadal Hormone Exposure and Bone Sarcoma Risk
Dawn M. Cooley, Benjamin C. Beranek, Deborah L. Schlittler, Nita W. Glickman,
Lawrence T. Glickman, and David J. Waters
Quote:
Male and female [Rottweiler] dogs that underwent gonadectomy before 1 year of age had an approximate one in four lifetime risk for bone sarcoma and were significantly more likely to develop bone sarcoma than dogs that were sexually intact.
http://www.cobankopegi.com/b/rottwei...ancer-risk.jpg
You can download this study from my website. (PDF 60 KB)
http://www.cobankopegi.com/b/cancer-neuter.pdf
Another study.
A study which is actually ten years old (has Dr. Serpell as one of the scientists) found a significant relationship between neutering and aggression as far back as 1996.
Podberscek, A.L. & Serpell, J.A.
The English Cocker Spaniel: preliminary findings on aggressive behaviour. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 47: 75-89, 1996.
Some images here but you can download the study here. (PDF images 718 KB)
http://www.cobankopegi.com/b/serpell...aggression.jpg
..... images in the PDF break up the paragraphs after this. These image files can be big for a dialup, so download the PDF for the full discussion
http://www.cobankopegi.com/b/serpell...ggression2.jpg
Young children and potentially REACTIVE pets.
Hrm... could it be that some of these neutered females are in the shelter for this VERY reason?
Should the STATE endorse this for EVERY one? Think of the legal implications...
Upon reading the quoted letter below, I inquired of Professor Serpell about the studies mentioned below because these were not published studies, unlike above. I also asked Laura about the qualifications of the person she mentioned below (I had no idea and was skeptical :p ). These studies are unpublished but the information has been used in policy making in the management of several associations where service dogs are trained for the disabled. I was surprised when Professor Serpell acknowledged these studies, saying that his organization works closely with Canine Companions for Independence (CCI) on a number of projects and that he was indeed aware of these findings mentioned below. He added that these Service Dog studies did not contribute in any way to the published 2006 study which I previously cited here.
Apparently SD organizations have known about the problems of early spay and neuter for the past decade.
He also said, "The legislation appears to be ill-considered and premature considering how little we know about the long-term impact of pediatric spay/neuter on the health and behavior of dogs and cats. At 4 months of age, dogs and cats are also too immature for us to be able to predict reliably their adult temperament and physical soundness. The legislation as written could therefore have a significantly adverse effect on our future ability to select the best animals for breeding purposes."
Keeping the above in mind-
Laura Sanborn of saveourdogs.net wrote that Representatives of the two largest law enforcement K9 associations in California, along with a representative of the organization that represents 10+ guide/service/hearing dog organizations in California, made the rounds in the Capital last week.
This is some of the information she shared on that experience.
Quote:
Yesterday I made the rounds at the California state capital to visit the offices of the Assembly Business & Professions Committee members to discuss AB 1634. I was accompanied by two police officers who discussed the harmful impacts AB 1634 would have on law enforcement. Also with us was the person in charge of the breeding and training program at Canine Companions for Independence (CCI), who discussed how AB 1634 would harm programs that assist blind and disabled Californians. He also represented Assistance Dogs International, Inc., an umbrella organization over many guide/service/hearing dog organizations.
Similar to guide dog programs, CCI breeds and trains dogs to assist disabled people. They use Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers, and Golden/Labrador mixes. CCI breeds over 600 dogs a year.
My jaw nearly hit the floor when the CCI representative started describing research that CCI did in the early 1990s to understand spay/neuter impacts.
CCI wanted to know if early s/n (less than 6 months of age) would yield results at least as good as their traditional spay/neuter age, which is usually over 12 months of age (typical is 17 months of age). So CCI did a controlled prospective research study... the gold standard of research to understand cause-and-effect.
CCI assigned half the pups in a number of litters to be s/n early, while the remaining pups in these litters were s/n at their traditional age. The results were very unexpected. The early-age spayed females were significantly more dog aggressive than the traditional-age spayed females. Urinary incontinence was a much bigger problem in the early-age spayed females compared to the traditional-age spayed females. The early-age neutered males were more fearful than the traditional-age neutered males.
The bottom line is that the early-age spay/neuter dogs had a significantly higher failure rate in CCI's program... a smaller percentage of them grew up to be working dogs. As a result, CCI will not spay/neuter dogs before 6 months of age, and usually wait until dogs are more than 12 months old to spay/neuter. The CCI rep said this research has been repeated by others. I believe one of them may be Guide Dogs for the Blind, as I was told by one of their trainers that they recently stopped doing early spay/neuter owing to results they were seeing that they don't like.
Long before I ever heard about mandatory spay/neuter laws, I spent 6 years poring over the veterinary medical research literature trying without success to find research of this type. Here I was sitting in the office of a state Assembly member, listening to a scientist describe the work that his group did. It has not been published anywhere. Needless to say, I spent the rest of the day bugging him to get this published. This has implications far beyond AB 1634 and guide/assistance dogs. It has implications for the health and well being of most dogs. There are very few controlled prospective research studies of dogs in veterinary medicine examining spay/neuter impacts. They are too costly for almost all researchers to do. Guide & assistance dog programs may be in a unique position to do these kind of studies, as they breed many dogs and they maintain a degree of control over their dogs that is beyond what other breeders can do.
CCI's work is summarized in their letter to the California State Assembly opposing AB 1634. Quoting from CCI's letter:
Calling AB 1634 the 'California Healthy Pets Act' is a misnomer Surgical sterilization of preadult dogs has been shown to increase the risk for several significant behavioral and health problems. CCI did a study on the effects of prepubertal gonadectomy (i.e., sterilization) in 1990, and found significant increases in failure rates due to both medical and behavioral reasons in those dogs that had been sterilized early. This research has been repeated elsewhere with the same results. Increased incidence of health problems such as urinary incontinence, osteosarcoma, hemangiosarcoma, obesity and orthopedic problems as well as behavioral problems such as environmental fear and interdog aggression are strong arguments against prepubertal sterilization for any dog, but especially those destined for a working role.
http://saveourdogs.net/documents/cciposition.pdf
Laura Sanborn
These studies are publically available and have not been hidden from those who are interesting in sourcing issues. Many of you probably would not spread an Urban Legend without checking to see if it's listed on Snopes. And there are many who have pet animals who are skeptical about what passes as public information.
Want more?
You can see a catalog of related studies at the follow website: http://www.ab1634.com/
- Orthopedic Considerations: abnormal bone growth due to lack of sex hormones; lower bone density due to lack of sex hormones; increase incidence of CCL rupture; increased incidence of hip dysplasia
- Cancer Considerations: greater risk for hemangiosarcoma and bone cancers
- Incontinence Considerations: in both sexes due to lack of sex hormones, estrogen and testosterone
- Behavioral Considerations: increased incidence of fearful behavior and phobias; aggressive behavior
- Metabolic Considerations: increased risk of hypothyroidism, acute fatal pancreatitis, diabetes, obesity...
- Infectious Disease considerations: increased incidence of infectious disease
- Surgical Considerations: surgical complications, anesthetic complications pediatrics and geriatrics, cardiac arrhythmias
- Vaccine Considerations: increased incidence of adverse reactions to vaccines
Yes, we all want fewer unwanted pets to be killed. But those of us who ARE keeping our pets would like to give our HEALTHY PETS optimal chances to have healthy lives.
And... Mandatory Spay and Neuter does NOT work.
http://network.bestfriends.org/anima...news/4108.html
Here's a fact: L.A. has already implemented mandatory spay and neuter
LAST YEAR (2006)--
* Los Angeles (CA): Since the passage of the "spay or pay" law there has been a decline in dog licensing compliance. To counter this, the city hired additional officers and equipment, increasing the animal control budget 269% from $6.7 million to $18 million
from Cardenas statement at a recent meeting to support AB 1634:
"This year alone, the city's animal control has seen a 36% increase in services due to the increase in stranded animals."
According to Ed Boks: "Over the past six years the City Council had to increase Animal Services' budget by 36%, with a 28% increase in the current fiscal year alone, even in the face of an extremely tight City budget."
I can't knowingly support MSN as a STATEWIDE EXPERIMENT on baby animals, when it has already been proven, time and again to cause problems in animals whose history is recorded.
Unlike the animals in the studies above... Neutered animals at shelters are not tracked for their lives. They also cannot be compared to unneutered siblings. Owners that have them and have some problems with them, cannot compare the issues that they have with their pets to the rest of the siblings. This is why MSN of shelter animals proves nothing about the effect it will have on the population as a whole.
The CVMA has withdrawn their support of AB1634
The fight is not over yet, but great news today because CVMA has withdrawn support of the bill.
Comments from many vets are online... here's one link
http://naiaonline.org/issues/Hjerpe%20to%20CVMA.htm
more-
http://naiaonline.org/issues/opposeAB1634.htm
As of 27 June, ALL Supporters of AB1634 are not only advocates for the previously exempt puppy mills which they supported earlier, but now, animals bred for research are exempt. (I'm a scientist, so I'm not stating that to start comments about animal testing but to show that reading the bill is an ongoing thing and that many "pro" bill arguments do not have awareness about what is ON the bill).
The new rewrite also endorses breeding of immature dogs, because as written intact PERMITS cannot be renewed after one year . Many dogs are not adult until two or three years of age. Adult dogs of many breeds are normally given tests for such things as hip dysplasia, cardiomypathy and CERF before they are bred. More explained in link below.
Still, the Bill pushers are taking advantage of "bleeding hearts" pet owners to capitalize on appeal to emotion and no facts are given about the dozens of problems in the "rest of the bill" some of which are mentioned above. They say such things as if you do not support this, you are Pro-Kill. Which is ludicrous but gullible people buy the guilt trip.
I have an update on my blog and more details including hypothetical scenario on how this will affect farm dogs because I think given perspective, more people will understand why this is so wrong.
http://www.cobankopegi.com/blog/2007...or-animal.html
