Mandatory Neuter/Spay in California?

Question

What do you think of the proposed legislation in California that would require all pet owners, both dog and cat, to fix their animals by the age of 5 months or face a $500 fine? (there would be an exception for breeders, shelters and show dogs)

At first I thought, what a great idea. But the more I think of it, the more I can see flaws in such an absolute solution. Would it basically mean the extinction of "mutts". Or maybe a doggy "black market". LOL But seriously, while I am all for spaying and neutering you animals (I think any responsible pet owner should), I'm not sure mandated pet altering is a good thing. It's not going to stop the inconsiderate, irresponsible s.o.b.s whould let their animals run all over the city breeding like rabbits. And who exactly is going to enforce this new law? The pet police? Is your family vet going to be required to turn in offenders? How is this supposed to work exactly?

I can see some major holes in this plan. What do you think?

Answer 1

There are no holes in that plan it is very clear. The idea is to make domesticated dogs and cats extinct. They added an exemption that is suppose to appease the groups that are against it but those exemptions only last til 2009, after which time all dogs and cats have to be altered or you face fines. There are so many well respected groups against it, such as, Guide Dogs of America, Canine Companions for Independence, Assistance Dogs International, International Assn. of Assistance Dog Partners, Paws’itive Teams and this is just a few, there are many more, yet no one is listening. Also, there are laws on the books that would make a difference if they were enforced so we do not need new laws restricting breeding, just the current ones enforced. There is an agenda here and people follow along because they really have no idea what kind of impact this will have. All they hear is the animals in the shelters will be saved. The only problem with this theory is that we have an owner retention problem more than an over breeding problem. This new mandatory spay and neuter law will not make people keep their pets which is the biggest reason we have homeless animals.
Also you do not need to spay and neuter your pets to be a responsible owner. I know lots of people that compete in schutzhund and they do not alter their dogs because altering removes some of the drive in the animal, and these people have not had accidents. Many people do not alter their pets and they are capable of preventing unwanted litters but this is the kind of thinking that leads people to believe that this law is a good idea.

If we ask the government to solve all our problems we may not like the outcome, but then it will be too late. People really need to wake up before the only place you wil be able to see a dog or cat is in the zoo along with all the other dangerous and wild animals.

Answer 2

I always have mixed feelings about new regulations but what I do know that is that 600,000 animals a year are killed in California shelters and that the California counties that have already put into place mandated spay/neuter laws have seen a significant drop in their euthanasia rate.

Right now in our California county, one of our county shelters is euthanizing many animals every day. The problem is so bad, the control officers literally have to drive around with animals in the truck to wait for the staff at the shelter to euthanize and make room before they can come in. And this is a brand new shelter that was supposed to be big enough. I work with the vet from that shelter and it sickens both of us.

Something has to be done because the voluntary approach is not working.

Answer 3

I think it is a good idea but more thought & planning needs to be done before it is actually a law that can be enforced.

I personally feel that all dogs & cats should be spayed/neutered unless you have Pedigree Papers on your dogs. Not AKC. AKC is just a registry & dosen't govern the dogs they register. AKC papers are falsified every day by back yard breeders & puppy mills.

I like the idea of spaying & neutering pets. If it were to happen where I live I would want to be in on the planning or enforcement of the law. It is becoming a rule more now than ever. More & more people are opting for spay & neuter.

I think it is a good thing if they are well organized & enforce it.

Answer 4

Read the bill - after 2009 there are NO exemptions for show dogs, working dogs, police dogs - any dogs except those owned by puppy mills! Pray you don't need an assistance dog in CA in a few years or get lost and have your life depend on a search & rescue dog....
I have a 16 yr old dog spayed over a decade ago, the vet is out of business. How to prove she's spayed (the spay scar has long since faded)? There have to be thousands of folks in CA in the same situation! And yeah they are trying to require vet to turn people in - a violation of patient confidentiality.
Google Mexico and rescue dog - there are already dozens of rescues dedicated to bringing in Mexican street dogs into CA- Us customs estimates over 10,000 annually Does this jibe with rescues are overwhelmed with way too many dogs bred?

Answer 5

Agreed. Such a legislation is impossible to truly enforce; it's silly. I realize what a big problem animals that don't have a home is and I'm very sympathetic about that since I am an animal lover, but to impose such a silly law without a clue as to how you're going to enforce it is ridiculous.

Spaying and neutering IS important and veterinarians should be required to ADVISE their clients to fix their animals... but anything more is really a big waste of time when I'm sure there are more reasonable, important issues California should deal with.

They do have good intentions, no doubt about that. But to impose a law like that to prove you care about the animal population doesn't mean a thing when you can't do much to enforce it.

Answer 6

There are going to be a lot of flaws in it, but it has good intentions. I believe in spaying/neutering and think it's the best way to stop unwanted pets from happening. It's sad how many animals are out there and do not have homes. I suppose the people whose animals are out running like rabbits and breeding like them will probably get large fines or have their pets taken from them. I'm sure as the laws go into effect, you will find out more about them like how they will work.

Answer 7

I too see a lot of holes in this bill....I think it is only a start to the problem...but what about all the people who don't license their pets...those will also be the irresponsible pet owners who don't s/n their pets to comply with the law...so fear not, there will still mutts bred to mutts and there will also be cats ....I really don't believe that this bill is a cure all ..but I do think it will slow down the population because all of us who do live by the law will get our pets s/n ....it will only be that group of irresponsible people that believe the law does not apply to them who wont comply to this bill.... I do feel like everyone is being punished because of what a few irresponsible owners didn't do

Answer 8

I think a mandatory spay & nueter is fine but dogs should be at least 6 months old before surgery should be done. A lot of these laws are being pushed by PETA. These crackpots don't care about animals or their owners. A few years back PETA bought a huge walk-in freezer to store dead animals in. The cost was $10,000. PETA is for no pets, not for they best interest of pets. PETA also puts down 95% of the animals they take in. If you are against BSL or mandatory spay/nueter laws,contact your states repersatives, besides the general public put them in office.

Answer 9

There are serious problems in giving so much power to animal rights groups like PeTA, HSUS, Animal Defense League, and ALF. Their goal is total eradication of domestic animals, including your pets. They work in many clandestine ways to reach this goal, but the CA bill AB 1634 is about as blatant as you can get. Oh, it sounds good with all the "no more euthanasia at the 'overpopulated' (more on that in a moment) shelters. But consider the ramifications should it become popular to make sterilization mandatory.

If ALL dogs are sterilized, where will pets come from? And if you ascribe to the theory of supply and demand, what will happen to pet prices? For ethical breeders who show and genetically test their breeding animals, the cost of a litter already faaar outweighs any money you can get from puppy sales. These added licensing fees and the invasion of their privacy in their own homes will be the straw that breaks their proverbial backs, and they will sterilize all their well-bred dogs, and quit dog sports altogether. That will leave the commercial breeders who don't give a crap if a shepherd looks like a big chihuahua, or a beagle can't find its own ****, let alone a rabbit. And these mentally and physically challenged dogs will cost you two months pay. And if all states decide to follow suit, you have the animal rights extremeists' Utopia. No pet ownership.

"PeTA, HSUS, In Defense of Animals, all those animal rights groups, they don't want to stop us fom owning pets. That's crazy!", you might say. Oh yeah? Check out this:

"It is time we demand an end to the misguided and abusive concept of animal ownership. The first step on this long, but just, road would be ending the concept of pet ownership."
-Elliot Katz, President, In Defense of Animals, "In Defense of Animals," Spring 1997

The cat, like the dog, must disappear..... We should cut the domestic cat free from our dominance by neutering, neutering, and more neutering, until our pathetic version of the cat ceases to exist."
-John Bryant, Fettered Kingdoms: An Examination of a Changing Ethic, PETA 1982, p.15.

"The bottom line is that people don't have the right to manipulate or to breed dogs and cats ... If people want toys they should buy inanimate objects. If they want companionship they should seek it with their own kind."
-Ingrid Newkirk, President, PETA, "Animals," May/June 1993

And oh, yeah..the overpopulation thing..If the shelters are so overwhelmed, why are some shelters impoting pets to adopt out? See: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2003-01-30-d ogs-usat_x.htm

So if you love pets, support your local animal shelters and rescues. Don't buy into the radical termination of pet ownership, and EDUCATE yourselves before you dontate money or support legislation of any type, even if it sounds good in theory. For more inormation, visit:
http://www.consumerfreedom.com/news_detail.cfm/headline/2982
http://www.petakillsanimals.com/index.cfm
http://www.activistcash.com/organization_overview.cfm/oid/21
http://www.animalscam.com/peta_7things.cfm

Answer 10

I see no problem. Few people want mutts--which is why so many die in the shelter. Anyhow, wouldn't it reduce on overpopulation? It's a GREAT law; please don't try to stop it! Even if there are holes, it's a start, and the law will grow and perfect from there on. The shelters would still exist; you could get mutts there. If you really wanted a mutt that the shelter didn't have, you could go rescue one from another state! There're all KINDS of possibilities!