October 8, 2009Comments are closed.attitude, mandatory desexing
If you needed proof that the overwhelming majority of Australian pet owners, don’t only love their pets, but make provisions for them during times of financial crisis, check this video:
If you had a child that needed a particular medicine, you would find the money from somewhere. The same for any member of your family, you dig deep.
There is a $4.2 billion dollar pet industry in Australia that is growing, even during these tough economic times. There are 3.6 million dogs and 2.2 million cats living in families around the nation. And only a tiny percentage (less than 5%) ever need the services of a pound or shelter.
While we continue to blame ‘an irresponsible public who need laws to make them do the right thing for their pets’ as the reason for shelter killing; the facts simply don’t support this theory.
So why then are we still killing?
A thought provoking article from the SF/SPCA Law and Advocacy department:
The costs of passing coercive, punitive mandates are high. Communities that have taken this approach often do not see substantial decreases in euthanasia, and in some cases, euthanasia may actually increase. In addition, adopting these measures can drive a deep, sometimes irreparable, wedge between the community and the shelter.
On the other hand, turning from controlling animals and the public to saving lives and supporting the community brings many rewards: a public perception of the shelter as life savers, increased employee morale, increased donations, and increased volunteers.
We believe the best way to work with the community and promote caring, compassion and responsible pet care is to help people to do the right thing. That’s why our programs focus on incentives, not citations. Whether it’s free spay/neuter, free pet behavior counseling, free ‘pets okay’ rental referrals, or our feral cat assistance program, we’d rather empower people to love and keep companion animals responsibly than blame and punish them.
It not just preferable, but absolutely essential for the humane movement to embrace the community we serve. We cannot save animals’ lives without people’s help. Time and time again, we have seen that working cooperatively with people creates an atmosphere of trust and respect, a community where people willingly learn how to be responsible animal guardians and view the shelter as a resource rather than as an enemy.
By contrast, punitive ordinances such as cat licensing, mandatory spay/neuter, and pet limit laws punish the public and, unfortunately, also community caregivers. Moreover, ordinances of this type have historically been selectively enforced on a complaint-driven basis, usually against unaltered catsowned and unowned. These cats, feral or tame become fair game for people who would like to see them forcibly removed from alleyways, neighborhoods, and backyards. Rather than partnering with the community by promoting convenient access to affordable spay/neuter and education, these laws unfairly penalize uneducated pet owners and dedicated people who voluntarily commit their time and resources to caring for animals. These people range from senior citizens who feed and watch over a handful of homeless cats in their yards, organized caregivers who feed and monitor many more animals, to others who devote their time and limited resources to placing stray animals they come across.
In San Francisco, building programs around this compassion has resulted in city-wide euthanasia rate declines that are unparalleled anywhere in the country.
Still think laws targeting pet owners are the answer?
You’re wrong.
