Quote:
Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom 
As far as s/n - I'm thrilled that Gemy started this thread and I always think it's an important conversation. Heck, to be a huge devils advocate -- there are some that say that s/n very clearly does NOT work -- bc if it actually DID work, we would not be killing 4-6 million animals EVERY SINGLE YEAR without apparent end. There are countries all over the world who do not advocate for spay/neutering -- rather, they have the kind of respect for other living creatures that should put Americans to shame, in my opinion. The end to overpopulation is WAY more complicated than s/n our pets. Should we still s/n? Yes, we should in many cases bc s/n is an arm of the solution toward ending overpopulation...but it will never, ever be an end-all be-all solution to this problem. Not even close.
|
Actually Ann, you just made the point for why spay/neuter should continue to be encouraged and possibly even mandatory. To paraphrase a really bad movie "a person is smart. People are stupid." In other words, as a general rule, people can't be trusted to protect their pets from unintentional breeding. How many times have we seen here on YT "I didn't mean to allow them to breed, but they got out of their crates/ got through the diaper/ I didn't know she was in heat/ my neighbor let his dog out/ the groomer didn't keep them separated...
Because of this, the whole idea of a pill to prevent breeding seems like an accident waiting to happen (look at how many people "forget" to use their own birth control). Vasectomies/hysterectomies might be a way to go in the future. But right now the limited number of vets that perform them makes it unlikely that the average pet owner would be able to either access or afford the service.
Some feel the reason we euthanize so many is because of an inherent lack of value we place on dogs. I would agree with that to some extent. Perhaps the way to increase that value is to make dogs more difficult to come by. Mandatory spay/neuter to own or possess a dog might be a good start. Require special licensing for all breeding capable pets. Would some people still be irresponsible and breed willy nilly any way? Of course, because it go back to the whole "people are stupid" idea.