September 3, 2007 Honorable Mayor Coerper and City Council, On behalf of Catnip & Carrots Animal Bunch, we feel the proposed Mandatory Spay/Neuter/Microchip ordinance is a wonderful idea for helping to reduce pet overpopulation, but we are not convinced it will address a reduction in euthanasia of healthy, adoptable pets. According to the OCACS HB-specific statistics provided by Chief Small, 165 dogs were euthanized; 99 of those dogs were due to behavioral issues of some sort. The remainder, minus a single dog put down due to lack of space, was for medical reasons or owner requested. Of the 320 cats; 125 were for behavioral issues, 175 medical and 20 owner requested. These types of euthanasia’s while certainly tragic, will simply not be alleviated by a mandatory law. This proposal also does nothing to address the hundreds of unaltered feral and free roaming cats and kittens in our neighborhoods and mobile home parks, many of whom are euthanized under the behavioral and medical definitions. We are reading so many statistics regarding success in Santa Cruz and LA County but a lot of that achievement is due in part by the Hayden Law of 1998 that requires all adopted animals to be S/N. Add to that the increase in education to adopt homeless pets, the horrors of puppy mills and a reduction in purchases at pet stores or private breeders and again, the numbers fall. Then consider the addition of in-store adoption centers by PetSmart & Petco, the hundreds of new animal welfare groups that have formed since 1995, their thousands of foster families and finally top it all off with organizations that work directly with the county shelters as “Pet Partners” that actively rescue adoptable pets for outside placement, and you can see why shelter numbers have drastically fallen. It has very little to do with mandatory laws. To truly have an impact on reducing euthanasia and curbing pet overpopulation you have to combine education, awareness and action. Currently Orange County does not have a mobile spay/neuter unit nor does OCACS offer S/N services to the public. Neither is there a low cost clinic within the city of Huntington Beach. Outside S/N clinics are normally booked months in advance. The cost to spay/neuter a cat in HB ranges from $90-$225 and surgeries are not performed on a daily basis. While there is a city sponsored program, it is poorly advertised and often times used by local rescuers and therefore does little to affect a real change in our community. Many residents also do not have transportation to vets within the city and OCTA will only bus small pets in a carrier. We applaud the efforts, but we would love to see the program more effectively targeted at our lower income residents and seniors. Perhaps a bi-lingual notice in our utility bills or an outreach program for rental properties would help spread the word. It has been 3 years since a low cost microchip clinic was held and we feel one is far overdue. We would also like to see domestic rabbits added to that grant funding. It is heartbreaking to see so many once family pets running loose in Central Park, only because these precious animals became aggressive from not being altered. In closing, we understand this is a very complex and emotional issue. There are many solutions available to us that we feel are more effective, and accepting, by our community than mandatory laws. While we admit, even our own organization is divided on this issue, we will continue to do what is in the best interests of the animals. Regardless if this proposal passes or not, you need to offer our residents affordable and accessible spay/neuter/microchip facilities. Without them, nothing can be accomplished. Sincerely, Susan Wise President, Catnip & Carrots |
