PROBLEM

Every day, in every community throughout the Province and across
canada, countless healthy, adoptable animals are destroyed simply
due to the lack of available good homes. The number of dogs and
cats - man's best friends - destroyed shows little sign of abating,
except in those areas that have attempted to come to grips with
this tragic dilemma through comprehens-ve animal control programs.

EUTHANASTA STATISTICS

Figures reported by B.C. S.P.C.A. Branches show the following:

EUTHANIZED 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989: 1990
Dogs 9,969 9,151 9,850 9,975 8, 169 8,895 «7,719
Cats 24,901 16,195 22,393 22,893 18,882 22, 268 20,010

Not included in these figures are animals destroyed through animal
pounds, privately, by veterinarians and others. It is estimated
that, at a bare minimum, an additional 15,000 ‘surplus! animals are
killed yearly by these various agencies. — |

OTHER IMPLICATIONS

The surplus pet population is clearly implicated in many other
issues, such as animals causing bites, complaints about noise,
running at large, befouling public and private property, spreading
of disease, wildlife harassment, dead animals on roads and streets,
neighbour irritation and many more, not the least of which is the

high cost of animal control programs that are designed to solve
these problems.

SUCCESS ACHIEVED

There are many communities that have addressed the pet over
population problem successfully. In British Columbia, the.
Vancouver Regional Branch of the B.C. S.P.C.A. began a low cost
spay and neuter clinic in 1976. Since that time, the number of

animals euthanized has been steadily reduced from more than 50,000,
in 1976, to less than 7,800 in 1990. | .

Los Angeles, San Mateo, Puerto Rico, New Jersey, and Charlotte,
North Carolina, and many other communities, have implemented |

proactive neutering programs and all have witnessed a reduction in.
the number of animals destroyed by significant margins. — oe

In 1990, the City of Regina embarked upon a two year subsidized pet _
neutering program in order to deal with their staggering growth in
surplus pets. The total number of animals neutered as a direct
result of this program more than doubled during the first. year.