Pet Overpopulation & Euthanasia

Reported Facts

1. Over $2 billion is spent annually by local governments to shelter and ultimately destroy 8-10 million adoptable dogs and cats due to a shortage of homes. Source: Business Wire Features

2. Less than 3% of dog guardians are responsible for surplus births. Source: Save Our Strays

3. The main reason for cat overpopulation is feral, free-roaming, un-owned cats. Source: Save Our Strays

4. An estimated 6 to 8 million dogs and cats are euthanized in shelters each year. Millions more are abandoned, only to suffer from illness or injury before dying. Source: Doris Day Animal League

5. The perceived high cost of altering is not the problem, but the lack of education i.e., its benefits.

6. While prices vary considerably, many humane societies and municipal animal control departments offer low-cost spay/neuter services. And while the cost of surgery may seem high initially, it’s a real bargain when compared with the cost of raising a litter of puppies or kittens. Spay and neutering also saves taxpayer dollars. On average, it costs approximately $100 to capture, house, feed, and eventually kill a homeless animal – a cost that ultimately comes out of all our pockets. Source: Doris Day Animal League

7. The cost of having a pregnant female can be much higher than the cost of spaying.

8. Neutering the male before he is sexually mature will inhibit such “territorial” linked behaviors like urine-marking and aggressive posturing.

9. Unspayed females have high incidences of mammary tumors, uterine infections, and cancer.

10. Neutered pets get along much better with each other.

11. Purebreds account for 30% of all the animals in shelters. Source: Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science

12. Approximately 55% of dogs and puppies entering shelters are killed, based on reports from 1,038 facilities across America . Source: National Council on Pet Population Study and Policy – Shelter Statistics Survey.

13. Approximately 71% of cats and kittens entering shelters are killed, based on reports from 1,038 facilities across America . Source: National Council on Pet Population Study and Policy – Shelter Statistics Survey

14. Owner Ignorance populates shelters with abandoned dogs and cats.

15. Pets that spend most of their time separated from the family, either in crates or in the yard, are at greater risk of being surrendered to shelters.

Consider this: While our world consists of interest outside our pets, we are their ENTIRE world and they depend on us exclusively for their socialization and well-being.