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RSS FeedAre mandatory spaying and neutering laws an enforceable or practical idea?
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| No | 40% | 150 votes | Total: 372 votes | |
| Yes | 60% | 222 votes |
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Add to FavoritesPractical, Yes, but enforceable? That's where it gets tough. Keep in mind that for every human born, there are seven puppies and kittens born! Now if you do the math that's way too many to enforce unless you have the entire nation do this and try to keep records for that!
For instance, one UN-spayed dog and her litters can produce (are you ready for this one?) Sixty seven thousand puppies in six years! An un-spayed cat and her kittens can produce four hundred and twenty thousand kittens in seven years! So how do you keep all those puppies and kittens records on whether they are spayed or neutered? And who is going to pay for that? Where would the funding come from and how would they approach such tremendous numbers?
In Pennsylvania it is a law to spay or neuter your pet IF it came from an animal shelter or humane society, but if it didn't? There you go,chances are it could have several unwanted litters and people do not know what to do with them so they give them away and the saga continues. Animal welfare studies have shown that more than eleven million animals a year are taken into animal shelters. The figures are astounding, each state having their own laws on this makes it even harder to try and enforce.
It does make sense to try to enforce them but overall it is an overwhelming task, Maybe if we tripled the staff for animal control we would have a better shot at it. Again though the cost would be staggering and volunteers are hard to find.So in order to do this we must enact some sort of legislation uniformed to all states to ensure it is being done. Even if this were to happen it would be tied up for a lengthy period of time before anything actually came of it, so we are back to the original question, and once again, it is not a very enforceable idea.
Until we all get together and agree on one specific detailed program this will continue to be an insurmountable cause.the individual owners have to realize that this is a problem and make sure that they and their pets are not part of this problem, but are helping to solve it by spaying and neutering on their own.
If there were fines or warnings given to individuals it may be helpful and slightly easier to monitor. To instill is to enforce and to enforce is very practical.
So although it is a practical idea, I feel it is not an enforceable one, at least in this day and time.
Suffice it to say that the control issue is out of control?
Learn more about this author, Mary Snyder.
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Yes
When people think about animals they think about fuzzy, cuddly pets. Or they think about dangerous wild beasts. Regardless of what you might think about animals in general, domestic animals are another story. Domestic animals were domesticated by humans and we, as humans, must protect them. When we first domesticated animals we took the responsibility of their health upon ourselves. By making spaying and neutering a mandatory law, we can eliminate the unnecessary pet overpopulation. There are many cats and dogs being put down every year because there isn't enough room. There are many cats and dogs starving to death because there isn't anyone who will care for them. These animals deserve more than that. It isn't their fault that we've over bred them and sold them as property. It is a gross reminder of our imperfect world.
What is one of the biggest problems? Backyard breeders. A backyard breeder is somebody who doesn't truly care about the well-being of the animal or its breed regulations. A backyard breeder is someone who doesn't know much about dogs and only breeds them for the money they get in return. Taking care of dogs and being a breeder is not only a very time-consuming job but an expensive one if done properly. To actually make a profit by selling puppies the breeders must not spend much money on the puppy or its parents. The dogs do not have proper medical care most of the time and do not receive the proper nutrition. They are not loved and socialized in ways that they should be. These backyard breeders produce millions of dogs each year when the world is already overcrowded with dogs. If we had mandatory neuter and spay laws then we would eliminate these backyard breeders and instead allow the breeders who truly care about the breed to continue to breed.
Are they practical? Yes. One can only agree that the law would be practical when looking at the current situation. With a law like this in place it would prevent the pet population from growing even larger. It would help only those who were interested in the well-being and advancement of their domestic animal's breed, be breeders.
Would it be enforceable? Truthfully, I don't know. It would be rather hard to enforce that all domestic animals were spayed and neutered. However it could be checked at all of the shelters. It could be checked at the veterinarian's offices. And regardless of its ability to be enforced, if one person was scared into action, it would be a worthwhile law.
Learn more about this author, Gabrielle Schrader.
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