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Perfectly healthy dogs and cats all over the world are being euthanized daily. Homeless cats turn feral threatening local wildlife and homeless dogs wander the streets getting into garbage bins and being knocked down in traffic. Why do so many of these once loved pets end up homeless and how do we end the escalating problem?

Owning a pet is a full time responsibility that takes time, money, patience and lifelong commitment. Unfortunately many people fall in love with the idea of a pet and cannot resist buying that adorable bundle of fluff. They do not think through or understand the extent of the commitment they are making.

Animal shelters do a wonderful job, but to reduce the number of homeless animals we need to address the source of the problem. Irresponsible pet ownership is the cause of animal homelessness and uncontrolled breeding exacerbates it by making animals so easy to obtain.

Irresponsible pet ownership.
Education programs are run by many animal welfare organizations for new pet owners. The availability of these programs do go some way to helping solve the problem as they help people who have the willingness, but not the knowledge of how, to be a responsible pet owner.

There are also many people however who are unwilling to put in the effort required. The only way to get these people to act responsibly is to make them accountable for their actions. Currently there is no way to do this as there is no way to identify a pet's owner unless the owner has chosen to register the animal or get it microchipped. People who dump their pets do neither.

While most cities and towns have requirements for pets to be registered there is very little consequence for those who do not comply. Compulsory identification, by microchipping, of all litters would provide a permanent method of identifying an animal's owner. Holding the registered owner accountable for the animal's wellbeing will ensure that ownership is transferred when pets are sold or rehomed.

Compulsory, permanent identification with harsh penalties for dumping may not reduce the number of animals euthanized. It will also not change the fact that people will still buy or be given pets that end up unwanted. It will however ensure pet owners try harder to rehome their pet or find a suitable alternative before abandoning it.

Uncontrolled breeding
Puppies and kittens are too easy to obtain. Check your local paper and you will find advertisements under free to good home'. Unfortunately while the free' part is true, few of the owners of these litters bother to check whether the good home' really exists.

Breeding of companion animals needs to become a regulated industry and all animals sold as pets should be sold neutered. This will drastically reduce the number of litters, prices will increase and that little bundle of fluff will not be so attractive to the impulse buyer or gift giver.

Reducing the number of litters will also mean that more people look to shelters to find a pet, and this will reduce the number of healthy animals being euthanized for want of an appropriate home.

Trying to end animal homelessness is a bit like trying to boil the ocean. There will always be unscrupulous people who breed animals to make quick money, but taking radical steps to identify and make people accountable for their pets will substantially reduce the problem.

Learn more about this author, Marie Hurley.
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