PETA Renews Push For Mandatory State Spay-and-Neuter Laws

Group Uses 2012 Animal Records to Seek National Governors Association Support to Help States Reduce Casual Animal Acquisition/Breeding Crisis

NORFOLK, Va., Feb. 1, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In a plea to the National Governors Association to help reduce animal homelessness in a sensible way, PETA is again urging the organization to promote mandatory spay-and-neuter legislation across the country to reduce intake and euthanasia rates at animal shelters that accept all-comers. An estimated 6 to 8 million animals are admitted to shelters in the U.S. each year, and about half of them must be euthanized, many because there are not enough suitable homes for them.

"Even though PETA's own fleet of mobile spay-and-neuter clinics has 'fixed' nearly 88,000 cats and dogs in the past 10 years, it's impossible to keep up with the runaway birthrate of unwanted kittens and puppies," says PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. "With one stroke of a pen, countless animals who are paying for this crisis with their lives could be saved."

In its letter to the National Governors Association, PETA points out that mandatory spay-and-neuter laws also make good fiscal sense: Taxpayers pay approximately $2 billion to house, euthanize, and dispose of unwanted dogs, cats, and other animals in the U.S. each year.

In 2012, PETA spayed or neutered 9,263 animals. The group euthanized 1,675 elderly, injured, ill, and homeless domestic animals turned away by other shelters and/or surrendered by citizens who had nowhere else to turn. Twenty-three animals were placed in carefully screened permanent homes, and 130 were transferred to larger facilities, where they'd have a better chance of being adopted. PETA also helped thousands of guardians reconsider keeping their dogs and cats by offering no- and low-cost veterinary services and counseling tips as well as by helping to find animal-friendly housing and assisting with humane care. In addition, PETA placed ads worth more than $9 million promoting the humane treatment of animals, many featuring celebrities, in such widely read publications as The Wall Street Journal, Sports Illustrated, and Spin. The ads reached more than 100 million people in 2012.

PETA's letter to the National Governors Association is available upon request. For more information, please contact PETA.

SOURCE People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)