Community Problem Report
Gregorio Simmons
University of Texas at El Paso
Abstract
Pet Overpopulation is responsible for the deaths of millions of cats and dogs annually. Animal shelters must constantly use the process of euthanasia to kill pets that are either unwanted, cannot be properly identified due to an increase homeless pets. Unwanted breeding from pets whose owners did not think to get their pet either spay or neutered only complicate the situation. The El Paso government is making efforts to increase awareness, and stress the importance of controlling the breeding of pets. The following Community Problem Report has conclusive evidence from research within the community and other sources worldwide who have noticed the trends of pet overpopulation and its effects on public health issues as well as the local economy. The solution to pet overpopulation has yet to be discovered, through recent trends being acknowledged though; there is always room for improvement as well as learning from past mistakes to ensure that in the future that millions undeserving pets will not have to lose their lives due to common mistakes.
Today in cities all across the world there is a growing problem with pet overpopulation. This community problem report focuses on the overpopulation of pets in El Paso, Texas. El Paso has recently become a part of a larger community that is taking on the fight of overpopulation by regulating its pet stores (Animal Legal Defense Fund, 2010). Many pets are killed yearly around the world, “Shelters often get blamed for the deaths of these animals but pet overpopulation is a disease introduced by irresponsible humans: owners who didn’t have their animals spayed or neutered and allowed them to breed, or owners whose pets became lost and were not returnable because they didn’t have proper identification” (Animed.org, 2009). Overpopulation of pets in areas like El Paso are caused by problems such as people unknowingly supporting an unethical yet common form of breeding known as “puppy mills” or “kitten factories”. El Paso as a community is not the first city to have this problem and is not the first city to have its government take action. The people of El Paso need to become more informed about how to become more responsible pet owners as the city government continues to enforce and regulate pet stores; although both have made progress it will take time, and the cooperation of both citizens and our government is needed to decrease the number of costly killings of healthy animals.
Animal Services, a branch within the El Paso Health Department, offer numerous services to assist our local government and the people of El Paso to help maintain the proper upkeep of pets. Animal Services is now open Monday through Saturday to the public from 10:30 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. and is closed on Sundays. They provide information on vaccinations for pets, the registration process as well as receive reports on any abandoned, sick, homeless, or injury causing incidents dealing with pets. The hours of operations for the Animal Control Officers differ from Animal Services to allow themselves to be more available to assist the community daily. From 8:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. the Animal Control Officers are on call. There are also emergency services covering from 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. resulting in essentially a full 24 hour service. Adoption is another way our local government has decided to aid our community in dealing with this issue of pet overpopulation. These adoptions are handled at 5001 Fred Wilson Rd., which is across the street from the Ft. Bliss Cemetery, by the New Hope Alliance. This location also serves as a safe haven for lost pets to be viewed for possible adoption on a 24 hour a day schedule, 7 days a week. The Shelters goal is “to regulate and control zoonotic diseases and protect animal welfare through enforcement of state and local ordinances.” (Animal Services, 2010)The actual days to go and adopt pets however are on Monday, Wednesday through Saturday, from 11:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m.
According to the Animal Legal Defense Fund (2010), on October 5th 2010, El Paso joined other cities across the Nation who has made a commitment to reduce pet euthanasia rates as well as the rates of animal cruelty. The city alone has euthanized approximately 18,000 pets last year. From an economic point of view, costs of care for the animals, transportation, the euthanization process, and the disposal of the pets culminate to roughly $50-$70 (2010). Break out the calculator because that can lead up to $1.26 million dollars. The new amended ordinance has put a limit on to how much a pet under one year of age can be sold for; this prevents pet stores from charging $1,500 because they felt it was necessary. Instead, documentation will show how much the previous owner spent on taking care of a pet and that will accurately reflect the price that a pet can be sold for (2010). These are some of the steps our government has recently enacted to show their willingness to solve this problem, and the remaining responsibility lays in the hands of El Paso citizens to do the rest.
The American Humane Association states that the United States is home to about 163 million pet cats and dogs. For every 20 of these pets approximately 1 will end up in a shelter. Therefore, each year roughly 8 million pets are taken to shelters somewhere in the country and unfortunately about 3.7 million of those will be killed by euthanasia. Euthanasia currently happens to be the leading cause of death for both dogs and cats within the United States (American Humane Association, 2010).
There are many causes and factors for pet overpopulation, the two biggest factors however are irresponsible breeding and choosing not to adopt. Irresponsible breeding is the result of the common ignorance of pet owners who believe that their pets will not breed accidentally. Pets have a tremendous urge to breed, which can lead to breaking through screens, climbing or digging under 6-foot fences, and even possibly mate through a chain link fence. This act of irresponsible breeding can be easily stopped by either spay or neutering a pet. This operation can be done at 8 weeks of age before the pet reaches its sexual maturity (Warren, 2002, p. 30). Owners who breed their pets for fun may believe they are not adding to the problem of pet overpopulation, but it is important to consider the fact that for every pet sold by an owner there is a pet that will no longer be adopted from a shelter (American Humane Association, 2010).
Choosing not to adopt a pet has a common myth that there are clearly not enough homes for pets. Yet approximately 17 million Americans, which are more than double the amount of pets that are put in shelters each year, get a new pet each year. Unfortunately only about 20% or 3.5 million people decide to adopt their pet. Here in El Paso, if you adopt your pet, more than likely that pet will already be spay or neutered. In some cases it is more cost effective to adopt a pet that is already updated with shots, vaccinations, and is either spayed or neutered. This is in comparison to citizens who get a “free” pet from a friend, and then later they must pay to get the animal spayed or neutered and ensure the pet has all necessary vaccinations, etc (American Humane Association, 2010).
Puppy mills and kitten factories are also supportive to the ongoing problem of pet overpopulation. These practices are used for the sole purpose of becoming wealthy at the sake of poor products and abusing animals at the same time. Puppy mills are essentially concentration camps for dogs. Cages are stacked on top of each other as high as possible. In some of these puppy mills the cages are constructed of wire, therefore when the animals use the bathroom its bowels will fall into the cages below, or into their water or feeding bowls. Survival of the fittest is the name of the game in these puppy mills where food gets commonly thrown on the ground to those animals on the ground floor not to mention the wire cages provide with little or no protection to the animals from the elements of rain, sun, and wind. Also, the thought of maintaining a warehouse full of “merchandise” that has to eat can be costly, so the puppy mills try to ship out their product of unhealthy, poorly parented puppies around 4 weeks of age. After which, the animals are moved and sold to local pet shops in cages where there are more than 1 animal per cage, selling for approximately $30-$40 each. The sold for approximately $35 bring in $350 to $500. (Wrede, 1994, p. 48)
Although the City Council has started to implement an ordinance that is going in the right direction there is always room for improvement. For instance, although the El Paso community only has a single pet store in all of El Paso, this does not mean that the sale of “puppy mill” dogs will automatically come to a screeching halt. In other areas across the World some cities have found that buyers will just look for a more convenient way to buy their pets. The move to internet purchasing is growing quickly as technology makes it easier and easier (Saving Pets, 2010).
People prefer to buy animals from pet shops because they are almost always conveniently located and you can always see and interact with the cute puppies and kittens. The advertising strategies used in this type of environment are maximized to get customers. From the animals being presented in a clean, well lit area, to being at the right height for a consumer to see them easily and maximize the impact. Also how the staff always greets visitors creating an upbeat atmosphere and frequently claiming discounts for regular customers (Saving Pets, 2010).
No wonder puppy mills still exist. There should be no reason for the difference in these pictures. Yet the truth is private organizations have the means to provide a more desirable type of advertisement that a pound would not be able to. In conclusion, in conjunction with the community of El Paso, and its government, shelters need to network as well with the local pet shop to support adoptions or sales. Thousands of pets should not be dying every year because they don’t have a home; they should have caring homes, and enrich family’s daily lives as members of those families (Saving Pets, 2010).
References
(2010, June 06). Saving Pets [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.savingpets.com. au/2010/06/ overpopulation -disguises-the-true-cause-of-shelter-killing/
American Humane Association. (2010) Adoption and Pet Care: Issues and Information. [Article] Retrieved from http://www.americanhumane.org/protecting-animals/adoption-pet-care/issues-information/pet-overpopulation.html
Animal Legal Defense Fund. (2010) El Paso Votes to Regulate Pet Stores. Retrieved from Animal Legal Defense Fund website: http://www.aldf.org/article.php?id=1493
Animed.org (2009). Pet overpopulation is a serious problem. [Article] Retrieved from http://petdoc.com/editorial/pet-overpopulation-a-serious-problem
City of El Paso, Department of Public Health. Animal Service. Retrieved from City of El Paso, Department of Public Health website: https://www2.elpasotexas.gov/health/animal.asp
Warren, Dean, M. (2002). Small Animals as Pets In Small Animal Care and Management: Second Edition (pp 29-30). Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=Qz-3V6_TatUC&oi=fnd&pg=PR12&dq=Small+Animal+Care+and+Management&ots=TLkwFnAT3G&sig=RHeY9MgjsEJF7hqqAysdS13waM#v=onepage&q&f=false
Wrede, Barbara (1994). Where Shall I Get My Puppy? In Before You Buy That Puppy(pp 47-48).Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books?id=WZsert9gc8sC&pg= PA47&dq=puppy+mills&hl=en&ei=sEutTP_aHMT7lwfqmYGFCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=puppy%20mills&f=false
