On Tuesday, October 20, 2009, the City Council of New Orleans will be voting on an ordinance that will require mandatory spay/neuter of all dogs in Orleans Parish -- or the payment of a higher "intact animal" license fee, mandatory microchipping, and mandatory annual Vet visits and vaccines (needed or not). This petition is to encourage members of New Orleans City and Jefferson Parish Councils to VOTE NO on the upcoming ordinance for mandatory spay/neuter of dogs. (Scroll down for link to full ordinance.)
Instead, we encourage the Councilmembers to
support FREE and low cost voluntary spay/neuter, which has proven to be more effective and less costly in reducing shelter intake and numbers of animals killed in public shelters.
On the Council Docket:
27,687 - BY: COUNCILMEMBER HEDGE-MORRELL to amend Article V of Chapter 18 of the Code of the City of New Orleans, to add thereto a new Division to be designated as Division 5, Spaying and Neutering of Dogs; to establish a mandatory spay and neuter program for dogs; to establish a breeding permit for dogs; to establish fees and requirements for such permit and penalties for violations; and otherwise to provide with respect thereto.
Link to full ordinance:
http://campaign.constantcontact.com/render?v=001icWSv9tauzD4yTItcQA9WZ5B53jcIU_Yzsu3BOViSPrAyujnOTZ41V9CCYD-ym07Q5q-60ZaRhxcNt3JqlurvZLGEsu36FizTDTbfdeURNc%3D
We, the undersigned residents of the New Orleans metropolitan area, strongly urge members of the Council to vote NO on the upcoming ordinances that mandate spay/neuter of dogs (or cats) or require "breeder" or "intact animal" license fees and punitive fines for non-compliance. While mandatory spay/neuter laws seem like a good idea on the surface, they actually result in the opposite of their intended effect.
The vast majority of citizens are law-abiding. But when the cost of spay/neuter is prohibitively expensive, these law-abiding citizens will either turn their animals in to the municipal shelter, turn their animals loose, or simply "go underground" and fail to provide their animals with regular veterinary checkups and annual vaccinations out of fear that they will be fined for non-compliance with spay/neuter laws.
Mandatory spay/neuter laws do the following:
1. Increase stray animals.
2. Increase owner turn-in of animals.
3. Increase shelter COSTS to care for and ultimately kill these "excess" animals.
4. Increase animal control COSTS to address the increased number of stray animals.
5. Increase shelter KILL numbers.
6. Decrease pet licensing revenues when people "go underground" for non-compliance.
7. Decrease owner redemption of stray animals when they cannot afford the fines and the cost of spay/neuter.
What works is VOLUNTARY spay/neuter of pets and positive incentives for spay/neuter of owned animals. We urge you to vote NO on mandatory spay/neuter ordinances, and to support FREE and low-cost spay/neuter programs for owned pets and feral cats.
Thank you for your thoughtful consideration.
