Breed-Specific Mandatory Spay/Neuter Laws Profile People and Pets

Mandatory spay/neuter laws sound like a good idea, right? Every shelter, rescue group and humane organization advocates for spay/neuter as an essential part of achieving no more homeless pets, so it makes sense to assume that requiring it by law would only help achieve the goal faster.

But in reality, it doesn't work that way.

Why? Because once you make spay/neuter the law, two things happen: 1) the reckless dog owners who were already illegally breeding and mistreating their dogs are driven underground, making it harder to crack down on them, and 2) most low-income folks can't afford to have their dogs or cats sterilized, or they haven't been given enough information to understand the benefits of spay/neuter and the services available to them. Even if they can find low-cost services, they can't find transportation to get their pets to the clinic, especially if the vet isn't located in their town.

Mandatory spay/neuter ordinances are typically enacted without providing resources, including transportation, that would help low-income community members keep their companion animals. So, to avoid breaking the law and facing unaffordable fines, pets are often relinquished and end up on death row. This doesn't mean these companion animals aren't loved or well cared for; the owners just lack the resources to comply with the law.

When mandatory spay/neuter ordinances target specific dog breeds, it only exacerbates the problem.

There is evidence that breed discriminatory mandatory spay/neuter ordinances increase the killing and further stigmatize the targeted breeds. Brent Toellner did a great blog on what happened in Kansas City when they enacted such a mandatory spay/neuter ordinance for pit bull-type dogs. Toellner admits that, logically, one would think it would work. "A city is killing too many 'pit bulls' in the shelter, so they decide that if they prohibit people from breeding these dogs, it will keep us from having to kill as many of them." Problem is, the numbers show it doesn't work.

Indeed, the Kansas City statistics are enough to strike fear in the heart of any humanitarian or humane society.

In 2005, prior to the ordinance, Kansas City killed 981 pit bull-type dogs. In 2006, they enacted their breed-specific mandatory spay/neuter law, seizing and killing 1,353 pit bull-type dogs. In 2007, the first full year with the new law, the number of pit bull-type dogs killed climbed to 1,722 — an increase of 75 percent from the base year of 2005. In other words, unaltered pet pit bull-type dogs were being rounded up and killed simply because of their appearance and sexual status. It didn't matter if they had homes or folks who loved them, they were toast.

The frustration shelter workers feel when dealing with any fad breed is understandable. But passing laws to address fads is bad policy. The bottom line is breed-specific mandatory spay/neuter ordinances are discriminatory, and instead of reducing the number of animals being killed by shelters, they have the reverse effect.

I look forward to a day when there are no more homeless pets, but I don't want to achieve it through killing dogs.

Let's get companion animals spayed and neutered by providing the resources and education that people need, not by passing ineffective, arbitrary laws. All dogs are individuals, and all owners deserve the benefit of the doubt, regardless of their income, zip code, or breed of choice. Humane societies and city councils should know better than to engage in canine profiling.

Photo by Katie Barnett, Game Dog Guardian