‘Pet overpopulation’ is a common theme for many animal rescue agencies, and rightly so, as it is an almost insurmountable problem in North America. The statistics are staggering and speak for themselves: the Humane Society of the United States reports that four million cats and dogs are euthanized each year. That’s one healthy animal destroyed every eight seconds. Pause and consider that for a moment: every eight seconds, an animal dies. Why do we let this happen?
Sadly, this is after twenty years of educating the public about the importance of spaying and neutering their pets, as well as spaying and neutering all rescue animals before adoption. Imagine what the numbers would be without the two decades of soul-stirring ad campaigns, featuring everything from celebrities to lonely little Fluffy with the amputated foreleg tugging playfully at your heartstrings.
Solve the Pet Overpopulation Problem? Put an End to Puppy Mills
Puppy mills are a major topic in the news, alongside the pet overpopulation problem. However, no matter how much news coverage or animal rights agencies explain exactly what a puppy mill is, there is still a demand for low-cost, readily available puppies. The instant gratification of buying a pup from a pet store remains attractive to some folks, yet they must be living under a rock to not understand by now that they are directly contributing to the pet overpopulation problem.
And puppy mills do not only sell their pups through pet stores. What about the pet area at the local ‘flea market’ that spans the size of two football fields, with every breed of puppy you can imagine, all for sale to whoever has the money? Don’t believe it? Visit the largest flea market in Texas – one side of the road is full of “stuff,” and the other is four acres of puppies. And no, no one asks any questions about your plans for the pup if you have the cash.
If we can stop the mass production of puppies and kittens by removing the demand, we will take a major step toward solving the pet overpopulation problem.
Ownership is a Luxury, Not a Right
Rarely do new pet owners consider the financial burden a pet can place on their wallet. Whether purebred or mixed breed, pets are expensive. Need proof? Take a look at the number of animals in shelters in 2007 and then again a year later, after the U.S. economy took a nosedive in the latter half of 2008. People were losing their jobs, their homes, and could barely feed their children – so where did the family pet end up? You guessed it – in a shelter or worse.
Solve the Pet Overpopulation Problem? Mandatory Early Spay and Neuter
The majority of people who adopt or purchase a puppy or kitten do not have any desire to become a reputable breeder who has the best interest of their pet and breed in mind. Most people simply want a pet. However, things change.
- Accidents happen – a pup or kitten gets loose and ends up pregnant.
- The owner cannot afford to spay/neuter the pet before their first heat cycle – see above.
- The owner decides they want their children to ‘experience the joy of birth.’
- The owner believes the myth that having a litter of pups/kittens is mandatory for the emotional well-being of their pet.
- The owner of a purebred pet decides that producing a litter or two will help offset the cost of purchase and maintenance.
- The owner believes their pet is so special that they feel the only way to have another like it is by breeding the pet and keeping one of the offspring.
- The owner simply doesn’t care about the well-being of the pet and believes that if it has a litter or two (or twelve), what does it matter?
- Unaltered pets get pregnant – it’s what they do. By being irresponsible pet owners, you can contribute to an entire litter adding to the pet overpopulation problem.
Stop Creating a Demand
As a society, we often look to other communities, countries, and even continents to help solve issues. Instead of helping feed starving children in our own communities, we send money to aid starving children in Africa. In the animal rescue world, it’s often the same. Instead of adopting animals in our own backyard that need help, we look to the rest of the world, feeling we’re doing a good thing by saving an animal from Central America or Thailand. However, this creates a demand and dependency in these areas.
For example, by importing unwanted small dogs to areas where these animals are considered a commodity, we are actually creating a dependency and skewing the canine demographics in the areas from which they are being rescued. This increases the need for more small dogs in these areas, which unscrupulous breeders then exploit.
Los Angeles produces an exceptionally high population of Chihuahuas and other ‘purse dogs’ because the increased exposure created by Hollywood has generated demand for these breeds. These pups are often sold in pet stores in malls, making them a common ‘impulse purchase.’ Right away, there is a ‘need’ for small breed puppies because there is an easy and profitable way to sell the ‘product.’
You then take a spoiled teenager who convinces Mom that she needs to have the Chi pup in the store window because it would help her learn responsibility. However, the reality is that she wants Taco because the puppy purse hanging off his cage would match her new shoes – a great marketing tactic for the pet store manager.
Once she realizes that looking after a dog – any dog – is actual work, Taco ends up in the local shelter. Since adult Taco is not as cute as puppy Taco, and there are a hundred puppy Tacos in every mall in Los Angeles, Taco ends up on a plane to Edmonton, where Chihuahuas are not seen as fashion accessories but actual pets. Fortunately for Taco, he now lives a happy life with owners willing to accept the ‘baggage’ surrounding his early life as an irresponsible teenager’s purse dog.
However, the loss of Taco to the Los Angeles fashion circles means another breeder with fewer scruples than your street-level drug dealer will produce yet another litter of puppies to be sold to more spoiled Los Angeles teenagers. Hopefully, they are as lucky as Taco and find themselves in good homes with loving owners who never stuff them inside the latest Louis Vuitton bag.
Look locally at what you can do to help improve the lives of animals in your community. Want a small dog but can’t find one available for adoption in your area? Put yourself on a waitlist at your local shelter and be patient. Eventually, the perfect pet will be waiting for your perfect home.
The pet overpopulation problem is not about solving any one issue but all of them. With bulging rescue agencies building bigger shelters, the problem is only being exacerbated. This is not a solution, but a band-aid. The solution lies within each of us – treat animals the way they deserve, think before making a purchase or adoption, consider the alternatives, and, for goodness sake, spay and neuter your pet!
