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Fixing felines
Cat overpopulation is real, but mandatory spay/neuter is not the answer
Date published: 11/14/2008
IT'S EASY TO EMPATHIZE with In this case, the "fixing" includes surgical spaying and neutering. One organization--the Rappahannock Humane Society--would like at least Spotsylvania County to make that procedure mandatory for all cats over the age of 5 months. Understanding the push behind mandatory spay/neuter laws is easy: We the people can be irresponsible. We allow cats to breed, dump the kittens, move and abandon our pets; soon colonies of feral cats are lurking under buildings and in sewers. Trap-neuter-return programs can be effective, yet each year, about 15 million dogs and cats nationwide are sent into the hereafter by shelters. Even so, mandatory spay/neuter laws are not the answer. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, between 77 percent and 87 percent of the 82 million household cats in this country are already fixed. The vast majority of copulating critters are strays. Who are you going to fine when those cats get caught? Second, these laws shift funds toward enforcement, rather than toward lowering the cost of spaying and neutering--and effective enforcement is difficult, as few feral cats are collared or microchipped. Consider, too, the experience of municipalities that have tried mandatory spay/neuter. In Los Angeles, the rate of euthanasia for cats actually has gone up 28 percent since its law went into effect, and the number of cats turned in to shelters has increased 21 percent.
Date published: 11/14/2008
Not
(posted by
sarguy
, Nov. 14, 2008 1:21 pm)
only is mandatory spay/nueter not the answer, but it would do nothing to stop the environmental damage a feral cat population has on local wildlife.
I brought
(posted by
TheBlueRabbit
, Nov. 14, 2008 1:03 pm)
my two kitties inside today, because it was raining. Have a nice day larryg.
this has to be one of the dumest editorials eery written
(posted by
larryg
, Nov. 14, 2008 5:26 am)
please tell me that ya'll had an office bet and the loser
had to write this editorial or your planned April Fools
editorial got loose from the "hold" pile.
this problem is a prime example of what happens when the
government does not do it's duty.
and folks.. this IS ... LOCAL Government - you know - the
kind that is closest to the citizens and most accountable.
Let's take your approach with rabies shots... for pets...
that way.. we could not only have a cat/dog explosion but
a rabies bonus to boot.
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