The Assembly recently passed a bill (AB 1634, the California Healthy Pets Act) that would require all dogs and cats be spayed/neutered at the age of 4 months or their owners would face a fine of up to $500. The bill is intended to reduce unwanted animals and the senseless euthanasia of shelter animals.
While at first glance this bill may seem to be a great idea, its reality is different. It does not address the true sources of pet overpopulation, violates the rights of responsible pet owners, was sponsored by the California Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) without support of its membership, and is unenforceable. Consider the following points:
“¢ The bill mandates spay/neuter at an age which many veterinarians feel is too young and has health implications. Medical decisions should be made by the owner and their veterinarian without government interference.
“¢ This bill does nothing to educate irresponsible owners who will never comply nor owners that obtain pets and later dump them in shelters (one of the leading causes of shelter intake). Plus, this bill does nothing to address feral cats which make up 70 percent of the animals euthanized in some shelters.
“¢ Out-of-state and Mexican puppy mills will prosper, causing a decline in health and a rise in behavior problems resulting in even more shelter relinquishments.
“¢ Similar legislation has been adopted in several areas of the country and failed to reduce the number of euthanized animals, while causing a dramatic decrease in licensing and the fees it generates for the shelters.
“¢ Euthanasias have decreased significantly over the last 20 years without legislation. In San Diego, over the last five years, we have reduced the number of dogs euthanized by 50 percent and cats by almost 30 percent without government interference. This has been accomplished by public education and the cooperation of Animal Control with rescue and spay/neuter organizations.
“¢ Consider the public health significance if scofflaws decide to no longer vaccinate their intact pets for rabies as they fear detection. Will the puppies/kittens that they used to take to shelters now be dumped onto the streets to suffer or eventually breed, adding to the current problem?
We are all veterinarians who have dedicated our lives to the prevention of animal suffering every day of our lives and agree that the euthanasia has to stop.
This bill will do nothing to stop it and will likely be counterproductive, causing more animal suffering and increasing taxpayer costs. Only education and community cooperation will solve this problem.
We ask you to call, e-mail or write your senator and ask them to vote against this poorly designed bill.
” Jean Spengel, D.V.M., who practices in La Jolla, is joined in this op-ed by Brenda Phillips, D.V.M., ACVIM (Oncology); Patricia J. Ungar, D.V.M., CVA; Sharon Vanderlip, D.V.M.; and Jack Vanderlip, D.V.M.