I am NOT a fan of mandated spay/nueter. Listen, i've worked for hears as hard as anyone to support the notion of spay/neuter. I think is important, and responsible. But the mandates have FAR too many unintented consequences. And as a result doing more harm than good. It's so interesting to me that a major advocate, the Humane Society of the United States backed off their support in California, where a vote for the statewide proposal was taken and FAILED!
http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS213273+10-Sep-2009+PRN20090910
So, you're wondering why I don't like the idea of MSN, what the many unitendended consequences are, and new info on health risks to some dogs of ealy spay/neuter which would be mandated by law....
http://www.stevedalepetworld.com/gallery/?g2_itemId=1246
here it is from a TV piece which aired in Chicago, with my friend Dr. Sheldon Rubin and also Dr. Humphrey Roberts, host is Paul Lisnek.
I like spay/neuter, and think is irresponsible for most not to spay/neuter....but let's incentivice instead of mandate! ! ! The mandates (and I am not speaking of a mandate for all shelter adoptions to be spay/neutered, which I am generally for) are not in the best interest of all pets.
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Easy solution
I think there's a simple solution for this: have an easy opt-out policy. The default law is that you must s/n your dog, unless you pay a nominal fee OR attend a class on responsible dog ownership. This means the lazy dog owner no longer allows their dog to remain intact and accidentally have a litter, but alters their dog because they don't want to bother with the hassle of having a legally intact pet.
Thank you!!
I viewed the entire video of the expert panel. A few points were illuminated that I hadn't considered before and I found the whole interview to be very educational.
I have long believed that mandatory spay/neuter laws are not the best choice. I don't believe the problem is with accidental breedings from lazy/poor owners but with the corporations and associations of the animal-selling industry whose goal is to produce millions of animals for resale in store-fronts. As government(s) are all about encouraging and supporting industries for taxes, I don't see them taking a stand against such a large generator of tax income.
The PR machine from the animal activists has taken hold and it was refreshing to hear examples of their media given expert responses of reality. (I would have been interested in hearing comments about the cons of early spay/neuter ie. growth plates)
The emphasis on this being a complex issue to balance rights and care was not lost. I laughed at your comment about police flipping over a cat to judge if it was spayed!
My best
Donna in BC