These facts are why I get upset with people breeding that dont have a clue. Reputable breeders understand this and in fact many are not breeding right now due to the economy and placing their puppies in good homes. Rescue people do get passionate because they are the ones that have to pick up the pieces and open their pocketbooks wider and wider along with their homes.
Euthanasia is the single largest cause of death for dogs and cats in the U.S. Each year 27 million of the animals are born. Five to ten million we classify as "surplus" and kill. These numbers do not include the millions of dead dogs and cats whose bodies we scrape off the streets, or the hundreds of thousands of abandoned, severely neglected or abused ones who never make it to our shelters to be counted and killed. The five to ten million figure represents those we "must" kill because they are unwanted. Most of these animals are young and healthy; in fact, it is estimated that a majority are less than one year of age.
The problem is simple: we have too many dogs and cats. Too many for the too few homes available. The solution we have opted for is to kill the extras. This solution has been considered acceptable by default, as though there were no other way to control the crisis. And we spend over $2 billion every year destroying "man's best friend."
Every year in the United States an estimated 5 million animals lose their lives in shelters because they are homeless.
That is one pet life lost every 6.5 seconds.
It costs U.S. taxpayers an estimated 2 billion each year to round up, house, kill and dispose of homeless animals.
The pet overpopulation epidemic is so staggering that for every animal born in the United States to have a home, each and every human being would have to own 6 dogs and 9 cats.
So, in actuality, a family of four (2 parents and 2 small children) would have to own 24 dogs and 36 cats.
For every child born, so are 15 dogs and 45 cats.....
Number of cats and dogs entering shelters each year: 6-8 million (HSUS estimate)
Number of cats and dogs euthanized by shelters each year: 3-4 million (HSUS estimate)
Number of animal shelters in the United States: Between 4,000 and 6,000 (HSUS estimate)
Percentage of dogs in shelters who are purebred: 25% (HSUS estimate)
Average number of puppies in a canine litter: 6-10 In six years, one female dog and her offspring can theoretically produce 67,000 dogs
if every person in America adopted a pet today, there would still be thousands of animals without a home.
If never spayed or neutered, a female dog, her mate, and their puppies could product over 66,000 dogs in 6 years!
More than 5,000,000 puppies are born in the U.S. every year
The U.S. has the highest dog population in the world
http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Eco...09-7_paper.pdf Spay & Neuter Addressing a Pet Overpopulation Tragedy Welcome to 600 Million Stray Dogs Need You Cold Hard Facts Help Save Dog Rescue Los Angeles pet overpopulation shelter euthanizing kill spay neuter http://www.fmhs.org/home/spay_neuter...ay-neuter.aspx
Pound pets end up as animal research
Former Pets End Up Dead in University Teaching Labs: An All Creatures Animal Rights Article Following is very graphic Piles of dead dogs Pound dogs