Altering pets has become a hot political topic! Across the nation, city and county municipalities, as well as state legislators are attempting to deal with this topic based on the premise that we have a pet overpopulation problem in the United States. Perhaps we do, but is mandatory spay neuter legislation the answer to this problem? Let's look at what some of the educated proponents of spay neuter have to say about the topic.
SPCA- Position Statement on Mandatory Spay/Neuter Laws:
http://www.aspca.org/about-us/policy-positions/mandatory-spay-neuter-laws.aspx
In short the SPCA strongly encourages altering pets however they feel that legislation is not the way to accomplish compliance. They feel just as strongly that education of the public holds the keys to responsible pet ownership.
AVMA - AVMA policy Dog and Cat Population Control (Oversight: AWC; EB 11/2004; revised 04/2009)
http://www.avma.org/issues/policy/animal_welfare/population_control.asp
Again the AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association) strongly encourages the altering of pets not intended for breeding and they also feel strongly that education of the public is paramount and they make suggestions as to who should be doing this education.
Lets also look to what the Veterinary Reproduction Specialists have to say. ACT and SAT position statements are basically identical, but here you go here are links to each associations site and reference to their position:
American Collage of Theriogenologists - Basis for Position on Mandatory Spay-Neuter in the Canine and Feline:
http://www.theriogenology.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=59
Society For Theriogenology - Basis for Position on Mandatory Spay-Neuter in the Canine and Feline:
http://therio.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=193
So what's the story from my take? I do feel altering may be in most pets best interest, however I also feel there may be breed dispositions that need to be taken into consideration as to what age it is appropriate breed to breed. I think it is sound advice as provided by all the above referenced organizations that one of the biggest keys to responsible pet ownership is education. I also feel strongly that how each of us chooses to keep our animals whole or altered should be a personal choice. I hope with that you will take the time to explore my website and that you will find it educational. You also may be interested in Gina from Brier Goldens (my mentor) Political Dog Blog, which lives here: http://political-dog.blogspot.com/
