"Responsible pet owners get their pets spayed and
castrated. Overpopulation in dogs and cats in particular poses a
serious problem. It is a sad realization that approximately 15 million
of these animals are euthanized yearly in animal shelters throughout
the United States because there are just not enough homes to go
around. Additionally, spaying females helps to avoid potential
infections and, if done early, reduces the chances of the animal
developing mammary cancer. Castrating males diminishes fighting and
subsequent injuries, roaming, prostate cancer, and, in cats, the
dreaded art of marking territory through spraying."
- - Texas Department of Health, Zoonosis Control Division
Legislation can have the most direct impact simply by requiring
that every dog or cat be sterilized unless their owner obtains a
special permit or pet registration that allows the animal to
stay intact. Differential-licensing laws—laws that
substantially increase license fees for pets who have not been
spayed or neutered—give owners (who may otherwise not have
thought about it) an incentive to sterilize their pets.
Support the Austin Animal Advisory Commissions efforts to
pass a city ordinance that will make Austin a spay/neuter city
and an example for the rest of the state. Stay informed.
Speak up. Click for more on
what Austin is doing.
Contact your Austin City Council Member and tell them you
support spay/neuter legislation. Let them know that the
pet overpopulation is truly a problem.
You can find contact information for Austin City Council at
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/council/default.htm.
Education, too, is an essential part of solving this problem.
Unless people know the facts about pet overpopulation and
sterilization, they are virtually helpless to do anything about
the problem.
Reduced spay/neuter fees play an important role as well.
Austin has 2 major resources providing low cost spay/neuter
services:
Animal
Trustees of Austin and
Emancipet.
The number one thing you can do is have your pet spayed or
neutered. Have your pet sterilized so that he or she does
not contribute to the pet overpopulation problem, and adopt your
next pet from an animal shelter or rescue organization.
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the problem