I read a great article on this subject today and wanted to share my thoughts. There is a strong correlation between mandatory spay/neuter laws and a decrease in city licensing of pets. It doesn’t matter if you are a breeder or pet owner, when the government starts mandating, rules start to get broken. People stop licensing their dogs, people stop going to the vet if the vet will report their dog as not spayed or neutered. In the end, these laws only increase the number of dogs euthanized in shelters because people stop letting the government know they even OWN a dog.
From “Save Our Dogs” blog:
For the animal services authority, return-to-owner is the lowest cost way to deal with dogs picked up stray. Dogs that are quickly returned to their owners don’t consume limited resources in the municipal shelter. Some animal services departments return licensed stray dogs directly to the owner, bypassing the shelter, reducing costs to the bare minimum.
Calgary animal services leads the way in North America, saving 95% of dogs they process thanks in large part to a return-to-owner rate for impounded dogs of 86%. Key to Calgary’s success is a dog licensing compliance rate that exceeds 90%. For a city of over 1 million people, Calgary has a relatively little public animal shelter space because their return-to-owner rate insures that most dogs are not housed in shelters for long. Calgary achieves this success at no cost to its taxpayers, the costs are almost entirely covered by pet license fees.
In California, only 62% of dogs in public shelters are saved. Return-to-owner for impounded dogs is a paltry 21%, in large part because only 22% of dogs are licensed in California. The low return-to-owner rates means that stray dogs must be housed longer in shelters, until they are either adopted out or euthanized. This increases costs. The low rates for dog licensing means that California’s taxpayers must cover most animal services costs.
This speaks volumes. If the government would stop trying to control the public choice and provide a service that does not force a choice, people usually do the right thing. If you start pushing people one direction, they will always turn and go the other way. We are a stubborn species!
From “Save Our Dogs” blog:
Mandatory spay-neuter laws break the bond of trust between many dog owners and their government. Dog owners have seen what happens after mandatory spay-neuter laws go into effect. Licensing makes their dogs known to government, and dog owners fear that government will whittle away their right to make their own informed choices about responsible dog ownership. An increasing number of dog owners would prefer that their government not know about their dogs.
Dog owners have seen the City of Los Angeles implement increasingly strict mandatory spay-neuter ordinances over the years that have turned law-abiding citizens into targets of their government. Dog owners have witnessed the enormous multi-year battles in state legislatures that have been required to stop mandatory spay-neuter laws. They have watched the spread of mandatory spay-neuter laws despite a consistent track record of failure.
Dog licensing is not the only path to saving stray dogs in community animal shelters. Some communities have achieved success with a greater emphasis on comprehensive adoption programs for dogs picked up stray. But returning stray dogs to their owners is a proven way to save lives. Even dogs that would be difficult or impossible to adopt can be returned to their owners, and dog licensing enables that. But high dog licensing rates require a level of trust between dog owners and their government that does not exist in many communities, thanks in large part to the policies that elected officials have chosen to pursue.
Whether policy makers intend it or not, mandatory spay-neuter laws are perceived by the public as especially oppressive and drive a wedge between the public and animal services departments. This perception reduces dog licensing rates, reduces dog licensing income, reduces return-to-owner rates, increases costs, and kills more dogs. Fortunately there are successful models that build public confidence, save money, and save lives.
As far as I know, no dog of mine has ended up in a shelter. I place 99% of my puppies as pets. All of those pets are spayed / neutered. My girls have 1-2 litters in their lifetime and then are spayed. The boys sire a few litters and are neutered. I keep my personal dog population down, currently only 3 dogs live with me. However, with laws like this I would be required by law to spay and neuter Mocha and Jazz, the future of my breeding program. I am not the problem, but the government does not care!
Most people in the US understand the benefits of spaying and neutering their dogs. Most people are willing to do the right thing, to help control the pet population and keep unwanted dogs off the street. Laws like these only cause us to mistrust our government. This is similar to my thoughts on banning guns. The normal average person who owns a gun is NOT the problem. They register their guns, the government can track those guns. It is the seeder section of society that do not follow the rules. Banning guns will not stop violence any more than mandating spay / neuter will fix the problem in our shelters! Those of us who follow the rules, do our best to work around what our cities give us, yet still provide society with great pets are the ones who suffer from laws such as this. When we were moving to TX 4 years ago, we bought a home in Universal City, TX instead of within San Antonio where Keith was working because of the strong anti-breeder legislation within San Antonio. Those of you who live in these large cities either need to fight these laws when they come up, or be prepared to travel farther and farther for your pets… maybe even out of our country in generations to come.
To read this full article go to: http://saveourdogs.net/
~Becky