Why Spay / Neuter?

It is commonly accepted in the animal welfare world that the most effective weapon in the fight against pet homelessness is a community’s ability to stop companion animals from breeding indiscriminately. 

Too many companion animals competing for too few good homes is the most obvious consequence of uncontrolled breeding in Los Angeles. However, there are other equally intractable problems that result from pet overpopulation: the transformation of some animal shelters into "warehouses," the acceptance of cruelty to animals as a way of life in our society, the stress to conscientious shelter workers when they are forced to euthanize animal after animal, and the generation of animals to be cuddled when cute and abandoned when a burden.

At this time, surgical sterilization is the only readily available means of preventing unwanted litters, and mass sterilization is the only practical solution to obtain a measurable outcome. During their research into the effectiveness of spay/neuter, FirePaw, a nonprofit research agency, found that high volume sterilization programs were the most cost-effective method of reducing euthanasia. According to Merritt Clifton, editor of Animal People Magazine, “Spay/neuter works: it has markedly reduced unwanted animal births and animal control killing wherever it has been made affordable.”

The partnership between AC&C of San Francisco and the San Francisco SPCA yielded a significant decrease in shelter intake including a 73% drop in euthanasia after the first five years in which high volume spay/neuter was made available. New Hampshire had a similar experience. In six years, the state’s eight largest shelters admitted 31,000 fewer dogs and cats than in the six years preceding the program. Likewise, New Jersey has had a statewide-subsidized spay/neuter program dating back to 1984. Over a sixteen-year period, New Jersey experienced a 29% decline in shelter impoundments and a 10% drop in the euthanasia rate, while the number of people residing in the state increased by 8%.

Effective spay/neuter programs contribute to the general well-being of the entire Los Angeles community:

• Public Safety: The public health epidemic of dog bites—which number nationwide more than 4.5 million each year—is due in no small measure to uncontrolled reproduction of companion animals. Intact male dogs represent 80% of dogs presented to veterinary behaviorists for aggression. Intact males are also involved in 70 to 76% of reported dog bite incidents. Unspayed females that are not part of a carefully planned breeding program may attract free-roaming males, thus increasing the bite risk to people. Moreover, mother dogs and cats are protective of their offspring and are more likely to bite those who try to handle their young. Often, the aggressive tendencies found in some dog breeds can be attributed to irresponsible breeding with no regard for temperament. Neutering can help to temper aggressive behavior.
  
  
• Homeless companion animals get into trash containers, defecate in public areas or on private lawns, and anger citizens who are insensitive to their suffering or their needs. Some of these animals scare away or prey upon wildlife—such as birds—or frighten children and seniors.
  
  
• Tax Consequences: Each year communities are forced to spend millions of taxpayer dollars trying to cope with the consequences of this surplus of companion animals. According to Assemblyman Levine, California alone spends $250 million on animal control each year. These public services include investigating animal cruelty, humanely picking up stray animals, sheltering, adopting or destroying lost and homeless animals. It is estimated that for every dollar spent on spaying and neutering, taxpayers save over $18.
• Mass sterilization of dogs and cats will result in fewer shelter deaths, a safer community and economical use of tax dollars.

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