Is it really pet overpopulation or is it an owner retention problem?

Question

The HSUS claims that 4-6 million pets are euthanized every year here in the states. With an estimate of all dogs entering shelters being killed at 3,050,000. HSUS provided the % at 61% of all dogs entering shelters being killed at 61% and I subtracted the 61% from the high number of 5 million to get my
number. My number may be off and it may not be. I don’t know as I am unable to find even an estimate of the number of dogs euthanized each year.

If the above numbers are true, then how many of those are because of overpopulation? I guess the way we find that out is to find out how many puppies are euthanized each year. Problem there is… those numbers aren’t provided that I can see. These numbers aren’t provided for a reason. The animal rights movement would lose their support from the general public for overpopulation. The general public would realize that overpopulation is a farce and then may find out the true agenda of the AR movement. No non-human to human interaction.
More below..

What we have is an owner retention issue. The good majority of dogs that end up in shelters had a home at one time or another. They were given up for what ever reason. They weren’t born and never found a home. They had a home and the owners didn’t keep them. There was no retention of said pet. If it was a true overpopulation problem, there would be far more puppies in shelters then there are now.

Also, how many of those estimated 3,050,000 dogs are being euthanized because they can not be adopted out. These are dogs that are too old, too sick, have behaviour issues and owner requested euthanasias. Again, we don’t know that number because it’s not mentioned anywhere by those claiming overpopulation. Why? It goes back to losing support I would guess.

I’m not saying that we don’t have an issue with the amount of pets in shelters across the US, but what I am saying is it’s not because of an overpopulation problem, but an owner retention issue. What we need is education. We need to educate people that would dump their dogs because they weren’t trained correctly in the first place. Education for people so that they know how to combat those issues that would make them dump their dog in the local shelter.

So I ask again, is there really an overpopulation problem or do we have an owner retention problem? You tell me.

Gr8danelady,

I have been there while they euthanized animals. I worked in a spay/neuter clinic for the SPCA for a while. The animals being put down are mainly adults that once had a home, but were given up. This doesn't scream overpopulation, it tells me owner retention.

Also, did you know that 80-85% of all dogs are spayed or neutered by the general public?

Answer 1

If it was truly an overpopulation problem, it would be mostly puppies PTS. But it is mostly adults being given up because the owners were too lazy or stupid to train their dog. The new never-say-no and bribe-with-a-treat one-size-fits-all training methods being pushed by Pet(notso)smart and others are also partly to blame because the people with out of control dogs go to these 'trainers' and get little help, and off the dog goes to the shelter.

The AR groups gnash their teeth about "overpopulation" while at the same time many shelters have to import animals from other areas/countries because they don't have enough adoptable dogs.

Keep fighting the fight!



Gr8dane - In a recent UNBIASED study, it was found that 95% of the shelter dogs countrywide are mixed breed, meaning MOST were not bred on purpose, but were the result of people not being responsible owners.

Answer 2

You have only to read all the questions on this board every day, to know that the problem is people allowing pets to breed or deliberately breeding them. It is impossible to find homes for them all, and yet they will not spay and neuter.

It's no farce, stand there while shelter animals are being put down, if you want to know.

Answer 3

Owner retention is a heavy part, maybe not all but that yahoo living near my brother who buys 2 puppies a year and dumps them at the pound when they are not cute any more is certainaly a substantial part of the problem!

Answer 4

You are correct. The problem is with people, not pets.