Tackling Family Pet Overpopulation with Legislation

Family pet overpopulation is a continuous crisis and is a major issue in every neighborhood. Each year thousands of animals need to be euthanized and put to sleep due to the fact that good homes are not discovered for them. Deserted pet dogs and cats are complimentary to stroll the streets where they need to struggle to endure by themselves. The number is roughly; 8 million undesirable animals taken into shelters all across the nation. Unfortunately, majority of them eventually end up being euthanized.

Shelter euthanasia is the primary cause of death of cats and dogs in the states. (PAWS Chicago). More actions and more laws should be imposed in order to fix the overpopulation of domestic animals.

The reasons for overpopulation are because of overbreeding, picking not to embrace, people disposing of their pets, and irresponsible family pet owners who select not to neuter. In a short article in the DVM Newsmagazine, Dr. Jeanette O'Quin, the president of the Association of Shelter Veterinarians specifies that overpopulation threatens the lives of buddies animals more than any infectious illness and results from a mix of a lot of animals for the variety of suitable houses .

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.. (DVM Veterinary).

Data show that 60% of pets and 70% of felines going into animal shelters never ever make it out alive (PAWS Chicago). An option is possible and starts with each of us taking an action and getting our family pets repaired. For many years, public awareness has been increased about the requirement to spray and neuter, however lots of pet owners still choose not to do so.

As people deliberately breed their pets either for enjoyable or for profit gain, others do not spray or neuter out of lack of knowledge and picking to believe that their animals will not reproduce mistakenly. The urge to reproduce is extremely effective. Pets can, and will conquer severe challenges to get to their potential mate. Males and women will run out the door, chew through their leashes or perhaps leap through fences.

Spraying and neutering pets is a conscious choice and the right thing to do. Puppies and kittens can be safely be fixed when they reach eight weeks; this is well before they reach sexual maturity so there is no chance for an “accidental” litter. A majority of pet owners who breed their animals believe they aren’t contributing to the overpopulation if they can find homes for the litters; but this increases the chance of one ending up in a shelter. Many of those kittens and puppies will end up at an animal shelter at some point in their life. On average a fertile cat can produce three litters in one year and the number of kittens in a litter ranges from 4 to 6. In about seven years, one female cat and her offspring can produce 420,000 cats (LA Animal Shelter).

Besides spaying and neutering, there are other approaches and potential solutions. First and foremost, the law must require licenses for breeders. Any individual or organization that wants to breed animals should be required to purchase a license. The license is to be renewed annually and anyone found not licensed will be a fined over an obscene amount, perhaps $1,500 for each litter. Breeders should also have a limit on how many animals they are allowed to produce in a year. There will be some flexibility as litter size varies but the breeder must have a limit. Any one breeder who falls out of the conformity would have their license void and revoked.

The law must also have a limit on how animals are bought or sold. Selling animals should only be limited to state-controlled pet stores. People whom are caught selling dogs or cats on the street or over the web would be fined or be required to serve community service.

One organization called the Alliance of for Contraception in Cats and Dogs are actively researching other methods of contraception; such as nonsurgical sterilization. The search for a nonsurgical sterilant has never been greater as this organization received over $70 million in grants and funding (Veterinary Medicine). This method will help target difficult to reach communities and feral populations of cats and dogs.

There have been large advances in the area of nonsurgical sterilization of animals in the past decades. Many zoos use a number of contraceptive methods to control the number of unwanted offsprings. It is often accomplished through the use of a hormonal implant that allows reversible control of fertility in females. According to Dr. Patty Olson however, a board-certified veterinary theriogenologist, “…animals in zoos are under constant professional care and scrutiny, allowing for potential side effects to be evaluated on a regular basis. (Petfinder).” The search is still on going.

These plausible solutions will obviously require extensive time, money and strict enforcement. It would also require hiring people to support the cause, and the government would need to monitor pet stores and breeders. Given that we spend millions running shelters and euthanizing animals anyway, these possible solutions are definitely worth considering. In addition, more potential pet owners should consider adopting their pets from a legitimate animal shelter or through a rescue group. As a community we can help by educating our friends and family members about overpopulation, adopting, and the need to spay and neuter.