- Signatures: 1,506
- Goal: 1,000,000
- Deadline: 3-14-2008
On February 23, 2007, California Assembly Member Lloyd E. Levine introduced the California Healthy Pets Act, or AB1634. This important bill comes at a time when pet overpopulation and backyard breeding trends are burdening animal shelters with overwhelming numbers of homeless pets. Addressing the problem of over breeding through the mass euthanasia of adoptable animals is not an acceptable means of controlling the population.
This bill would reduce euthanasia rates by mandating all breed mandatory spay and neuter of pets with exceptions for registered animals, service and law enforcement animals, and those with medical concerns. You can read the bill and more about it at http://cahealthypets.com/index.htm, where the body of this petition originated.We ask you to keep an eye on this bill as it moves through the legislature and to call and send your letters of support to the authors, committee members, and the governor so that we may finally reduce the mass euthanasia and over breeding of our dogs and cats.
In our capital alone, approximately 50 animals are killed daily despite ready access to low cost vet clinics cost vet clinics and subsidized spay/neuter programs for low income pet parents throughout the county. Countless pet parents negligently allow their pets to breed year after year, litter after litter, dumping their unwanted litters at shelters or worse. The bottom line is there are far more dogs and cats than homes, and we simply can no longer morally justify mass killing as the solution to this problem. Additionally it costs us taxpayers approximately $308.00 per animal abandoned at the public shelters. We save significantly by investing in subsidized spay/neuter programs, an infinitely more humane alternative to animal slaughter.
Thank you for signing our petition and supporting this critically important bill in every way possible.
| Number | Date | Prefix | Name | Zip/Postal Code | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,512 | 11:03 am PDT, Jul 3 | Mrs. | Holly Harper | 95610 | United States |
| 1,511 | 1:23 pm PDT, Jul 2 | Sandy Highland | 95841 | United States | |
| 1,510 | 11:18 am PDT, Jun 15 | deborah moskowitz | 94549 | United States | |
| 1,509 | 7:28 pm PDT, Jun 12 | Natalie Crawford | 94002 | United States | |
| 1,508 | 7:16 pm PDT, Jun 6 | Mrs. | Maria Ildefonso | 95660 | United States |
| 1,507 | 4:28 pm PDT, Jun 3 | melinda cicero | 86441 | United States | |
| 1,506 | 3:27 am PDT, Jun 3 | Ms. | elsie lenora champion | 94062 | United States |
| 1,505 | 6:19 pm PDT, Jun 1 | Ms. | Michele Malman | 94954 | United States |
| 1,504 | 6:12 pm PDT, Jun 1 | temple . | 85374 | United States | |
| 1,503 | 2:52 pm PDT, May 19 | catherine ries | 95628 | United States | |
| 1,502 | 11:15 pm PDT, May 17 | Mrs. | meredith duffy | 93523 | United States |
| 1,501 | 3:48 pm PDT, May 11 | Mr. | Cecilio Bustillos | 95662 | United States |
| 1,500 | 11:49 am PDT, May 7 | Mrs. | Anonymous | 95864 | United States |
| 1,499 | 10:01 pm PDT, Apr 29 | heather hicklin | 93230 | United States | |
| 1,498 | 7:25 pm PDT, Apr 22 | Ms. | Anonymous | 95822 | United States |
| 1,497 | 7:52 am PDT, Apr 22 | Ms. | Janice Tan | 95833 | United States |
| 1,496 | 6:27 pm PDT, Apr 21 | Debbie Aksland | 95228 | United States | |
| 1,495 | 3:41 pm PDT, Apr 20 | Elizabeth Montenegro | 95818 | United States | |
| 1,494 | 12:06 pm PDT, Apr 5 | dawn mccurdy | 95673 | United States | |
| 1,493 | 9:15 am PDT, Apr 5 | Ms. | Annie Black | 95975 | United States |
| 1,492 | 11:28 pm PDT, Apr 3 | Mrs. | Deborah Wood-Castaneda | 95367 | United States |
| 1,491 | 12:13 pm PDT, Mar 30 | Mr. | Kirk Hofland | 94606 | United States |
| 1,490 | 10:38 pm PDT, Mar 27 | Mrs. | Gail Wright | 95695 | United States |
| 1,489 | 8:11 pm PDT, Mar 22 | Anonymous | 95117 | United States | |
| 1,488 | 11:54 am PDT, Mar 12 | Jessica Houser | 95626 | United States | |
| 1,487 | 8:08 pm PDT, Mar 11 | Tonya Lewis | 94040 | United States | |
| 1,486 | 1:10 am PST, Mar 5 | Anonymous | 95630 | United States | |
| 1,485 | 9:15 pm PST, Feb 22 | Ms. | Anonymous | 95476 | United States |
| 1,484 | 4:06 pm PST, Feb 22 | Artemisia Boyd | 95682 | United States | |
| 1,483 | 10:25 pm PST, Feb 16 | Anonymous | 94041 | United States | |
| 1,482 | 10:30 pm PST, Feb 14 | Tammy Sample | 95626 | United States | |
| 1,481 | 1:08 pm PST, Feb 12 | Ms. | Jessica Miller | 32608 | United States |
| 1,480 | 8:49 am PST, Feb 12 | Ms. | Patricia Leppo | 93311 | United States |
| 1,479 | 8:39 pm PST, Feb 10 | Barnet Levinson | 77098 | United States | |
| 1,478 | 7:27 pm PST, Feb 10 | joseph nogee | 77025 | United States | |
| 1,477 | 5:25 pm PST, Feb 10 | Anonymous | 77025 | United States | |
| 1,476 | 3:29 pm PST, Feb 10 | Lorraine Okun Nogee | 94611 | United States | |
| 1,475 | 3:21 pm PST, Feb 10 | Ms. | Danielle Sample | 95841 | United States |
| 1,474 | 8:10 pm PST, Feb 8 | Ms. | Mary Pearson | 95961 | United States |
| 1,473 | 3:40 am PST, Feb 3 | Ms. | Araly Jacobo | 95608 | United States |
| 1,472 | 10:39 am PST, Jan 29 | Anonymous | 95758 | United States | |
| 1,471 | 1:40 pm PST, Jan 27 | Ms. | jeri mccarley | 94533 | United States |
| 1,470 | 11:16 pm PST, Jan 25 | Ms. | kara smith | 97217 | United States |
| 1,469 | 11:19 am PST, Jan 24 | Betty DeMeo | 94706 | United States | |
| 1,468 | 1:30 pm PST, Jan 19 | Shannon Pickerill | 94505 | United States | |
| 1,467 | 9:39 am PST, Jan 19 | Ms. | Starr Fenn | 94598 | United States |
| 1,466 | 9:12 am PST, Jan 18 | Anonymous | 95136 | United States | |
| 1,465 | 2:14 pm PST, Jan 17 | Ms. | Jo Ellen De La Cruz | 95823 | United States |
| 1,464 | 12:11 pm PST, Jan 11 | Anonymous | 95817 | United States | |
| 1,463 | 11:26 am PST, Jan 8 | Felicia Laureano | 94541 | United States | |
| 1,462 | 5:49 am PST, Jan 7 | Ms. | sandra mcvay | 95353 | United States |
| 1,461 | 1:31 pm PST, Jan 6 | Mr. | Edmond Ciesielski | 59000 | France |
| 1,460 | 11:16 am PST, Jan 6 | Anonymous | 95691 | United States | |
| 1,459 | 8:53 am PST, Dec 31 | Ms. | Molly Maloney | 94597 | United States |
| 1,458 | 10:23 pm PST, Dec 30 | Toni Holder | 94565 | United States | |
| 1,457 | 12:46 pm PST, Dec 29 | Ms. | Hélène Szzépaniak | 59000 | France |
| 1,456 | 5:30 am PST, Dec 28 | Mr. | Arnaud Henseval | 59000 | France |
| 1,455 | 5:37 pm PST, Dec 27 | Ms. | andrea gunderson | 94703 | United States |
| 1,454 | 10:14 pm PST, Dec 25 | Rebecca Gordon | 94952 | United States | |
| 1,453 | 3:59 pm PST, Dec 11 | Anonymous | 95060 | United States | |
| 1,452 | 9:00 am PST, Dec 11 | Hannah Strom-Martin | 95838 | United States | |
| 1,451 | 8:48 am PST, Dec 5 | Misty Espinosa | 95864 | United States |
California Healthy Pets Act: AB 1634
Each year, almost one million unwanted and abandoned cats and dogs are born in the state of California. Left un-spayed and un-neutered, these animals propagate far beyond the capacity of local shelters, animal rescue groups and the community to accommodate them. Shelters are often forced to euthanize (kill) young and healthy animals to make room for more; puppies and kittens are euthanized as well as older animals, and almost twice as many cats than dogs. The financial costs to taxpayers, and the emotional toll suffered by shelter employees and the communities who take care of these animals are extremely high. Local governments spend more than $250 million each year to intake, care for, and ultimately kill over half of California’s unwanted animals.(1)
Legislation requiring spaying and neutering of cats and dogs is a reasonable, proven-effective and necessary means to greatly reduce the number of unwanted animals and the practice of euthanizing healthy adoptable animals in the state of California. For example, in 1995 the County of Santa Cruz implemented a mandatory spay and neuter ordinance in effort to reduce the high number of animals its shelters took in each year. By 2005, Santa Cruz County’s intake number had plummeted by well over 50%, from approximately 14,000 to 5,000 animals, the majority of which were already spayed or neutered. The County realized significant improvements after only two years and its overall reduction is particularly notable since the County experienced a 15% human population growth during the same time period.
It is medically proven that cats and dogs which are spayed or neutered live longer and healthier lives. Early spaying and neutering is recommended by the American Veterinary Medical Association and advocated as “easier” to perform and “younger animals recover faster and with less pain.”(2) Spaying and neutering also protects and improves the health and safety of California’s animals by reducing or eliminating a wide variety of health problems that are difficult and expensive to treat. The many health benefits include preventing unwanted pregnancies and devastating genetic conditions; reducing injury and death associated with aggressive behavior and the desire to stray; eliminating the risk and occurrence of cancer, tumors, cysts, hernias, infections and the development of other life-threatening diseases.
Spaying and neutering also results in significant public health and safety benefits, particularly: in the reduction of dangers caused by roaming stray animals, the transmission of rabies and other communicable animal diseases and the occurrences of dog bites. It is well documented that unaltered dogs are three-times more likely to attack humans and other animals. California suffers the nation’s highest occurrences of dog bites, animal attacks and attack-related fatalities in the nation and children are the most common victims. (3)
Reducing the number births of unwanted animals in the state of California will necessarily reduce the state’s costs associated with caring for and euthanizing those same animals. According to the Animal Population Control Study Commission every dollar spent on spay and neuter surgeries saves taxpayers $18.72 in future animal control costs over a ten-year period.(4) These savings can instead be directed toward efforts that promote greater operational efficiency in California’s shelters and better enable shelters to fulfill their mission - adoption, reunification and saving animals’ lives.
The California Healthy Pets Act will save millions of taxpayer dollars, reduce the forced euthanasia of adoptable animals, help our pets stay healthy, and safeguard our communities. Its enactment will establish California as a national leader in the humane animal welfare and the no-kill movement.
$1.00 Spent on Spay/Neuter Saves Taxpayers $18.72 in Animal Control Costs Over a 10 Year Period.
1 Basis for Calculations:
- $2,750,000,000 ten year cost is an approximation (10 x average yearly cost), with average yearly cost derived from years 1995 to 2005 (numbers for 1999 are not available). Actual yearly costs are as follows: 1995: $289,891,756 1996: $278,758,172 1997: $292,216,540 1998: $298,575,200 2000: $253,230,208 2001: $291,809,364 2002: $305,864,944 2003: $253,842,512 2004: $233,707,936 2005: $259,259,000.
Holding and euthanasia costs calculated on estimated total operational cost per animal of $308.00, submitted by the General Manager, City of Los Angeles Department of Animal Services. Capital costs are not included. - Numbers are extrapolated to 61 local health jurisdictions from reports varying from between 51 to 58 jurisdictions (83% to 95%) each year. Source: California Department of Health Services, Veterinary Public Health Section.
2 American Veterinary Medical Association position statement regarding early spaying and neutering.
3 Centers for Disease Control.
4 Animal Population Control Study Commission, Report to the Minnesota.
Excerpted from http://cahealthypets.com/index.htm
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