MSN Fails Again.. and again... and again...

Want to know what *really* happens when mandatory spay/neuter ordinances are enacted? Check out an in-depth article from an animal rights/welfare organization posted this May. Their conclusion from studying the results of 8 MSN ordinances and 11 cities/counties with subsidized spay/neuter clinics:

"... funds devoted to breed permitting programs and compliance enforcement may be better used for subsidized spay/neuter clinics. Laws that target every dog and cat owner and attempt to limit most if not all breeding seem to result in decreased compliance and expensive permitting programs that are difficult to administer. These laws do not, in any event, appear to achieve the critical goals of reducing shelter intake and euthanasia rates."

More interesting thoughts:

"... According to the Journal of Veterinary Medical Association, the characteristics of most dogs who are left in shelters include lack of veterinary care, obtained at little or no cost, lives mostly outside, needs more care and attention than expected, comes from a family who are divorcing, moving, or has changed financial circumstances; is noisy, destructive, or soils the house.... Clearly, many of the reasons animals end up in shelters have nothing to do with breeding, but rather irresponsible pet owners who opt not to care for their animals. Only education and aggressive fostering and adoption programs will help resolve these situations."

Yep.

Do note, however, that the author recites the oft-repeated AR mantra that two dogs will produce 67,000 puppies and two cats birth 420,000 kittens within 6 generations. Um.... no. According to a study by the Cat Fanciers Association, using real-life cat stats:

"Realistically, over 12 years one unspayed female with all her unspayed female offspring can reasonably be expected to be responsible for over 3200 kittens if there is no human intervention."

I'm guessing the canine situation would be similar.