Ed, once again, this is a very informative email. I am especially appalled at the following paragraph. Something I always sensed was going on. Everyone of the consortium group should be forced to walk these innocent souls down the hall to die. More awareness in this country is necessary to stop all their funding. It's disgusting that they consider themselves animal advocates. The paragraph I'm speaking of: By shifting focus to managed intake, foster care, transports, and loosely defined “community interventions,” The Consortium* isn’t innovating—it’s perpetuating a profitable crisis. This model manufactures the appearance of lifesaving success while trapping shelters in a relentless cycle of intake and euthanasia that keeps the donations flowing and the problem unsolved. Nancy Heigl
Thank you, Nancy. Your passion and clarity are powerful—and shared by many who’ve seen the devastating effects of these misguided policies firsthand. The more people like you speak out, the harder it becomes for The Consortium to hide behind their rhetoric. Together, we can bring real accountability and restore integrity to this movement.
One of additional things we've started doing is working with United Spay Alliance to hold HQHVSN trainings for existing vets. A lot of the newer vets didn't get much S/N practice because of COVID shutdowns and don't have confidence with the animals we most need altered (larger female dogs and female cats) and even more established vets continue to use the techniques they learned in law school which are slower and have higher complication rates. The trainings are one-day, held at local to the vets being trained, cost ~$6500 (but include about 40 cat surgeries or 20 dog surgeries), and train 4 vets at a time. The DeKalb County (GA) government has funded one cat and one dog training so far and committed to 2 more of each in the next fiscal year, as well as funding 250-animal spayathons targeted at female animals in the areas of the county with more overproduction issues. We're working to get commitments from other local governments to fund the package of 2-trainings and a targeted spayathon.
This is fantastic, Lemonade. Training vets through United Spay Alliance is exactly the kind of practical, scalable solution we need right now. I especially appreciate the focus on high-impact surgeries and targeted spayathons in overproduction areas—smart, data-driven, and community-focused. Keep up the great work and thanks for sharing a model others can follow.
I've been following this issue in Arizona for a long time as there are large swaths of many counties especially expansive Cochise County with no vet access, HQHVSN (High Quality high Volume Spay Neuter) or otherwise, with few exceptions. Arizona Humane Society, a Scottsdale based very wealthy chapter (CEO annual compensation 400K+++ etc) boasted vet training prompting donations but where do the trained vets go??
According to Dr. Jeff Young (Rocky Mt Vet series), a majority then practice in private clinics, often private equity owned for maximum profit extraction or human intervention specialties like advanced cancer or kidney transplants, or other invasive inhumane interventions that only offer a pet limited life extension.
In YouTube video Dr. Jeff Talks About the Future of Veterinary Medicine & Why The Industry is at a Crossroads.
Maddies Fund Shelter Medicine apparently developing new drugs for big pharma/big money licensing that most can't afford? (Biomedical research in Pacific Northwest, a priority destination for BFAS transports).
It's fairly obvious the systematic dismissal of HQHVSN, foundation of No Kill, by Maddies, BFAS and accomplices was deliberate for overpopulation and shelter crisis to create "the community is the shelter" as a business model now with explosion of goods/services/DATA MINING software.
Note how many software businessmen are behind the "community is the shelter" business model, the fleets of transport companies, Home to Home, and of course Maddies Fund, the whale Duffield as "Peoplesoft" multi-billionaire who correctly assessed the financialization of all things related to massive over population of companion animals was a gold mine, including donors databases responding to emotional pleas of distressed homeless as monopolized by their funded accomplice BFAS.
Not funding scholarships with requirements to serve in shelters or HQHVSN outreach, and widescale integrating training programs with shelters, which they could easily fund with their collective billions, is the way to create a perpetual crisis for exploitation.
This deliberate strategy has been documented and I have seen examples of BFAS deliberately not funding a s/n clinic at impoverished shelter participating in their "embed program". Instead a private donor paid for ASAVET mobile unit to provide low-cost s/n for 30 shelter dogs.
There is no reason Maddies, BFAS and accomplices can't fund s/n outreach similar as Dr. Jeff mobilized on many episodes, Spay Neuter Alliance or other orgs demonstrate.
Instead, BFAS just contacted volunteers to be drivers for 1-3 day drives transporting dogs around the Western States with their fleet. This is their investment priority!! Really?? what state has a shortage of mostly big, unaltered or behavioral dogs (NOT cute friendly healthy) ?? I desperation to keep the No Kill without population prevention fantasy going going. and bring in new donors for a great visual of "lifesaving transports".
Carmen, thank you for laying this out so clearly and passionately. You connect the dots in a way few others do. The systematic sidelining of HQHVSN and prevention-based solutions in favor of profit-driven optics is exactly what’s driving the crisis—and voices like yours are essential to calling it out.
Thank you Ed. I would also like to add that the Jason Heigl Foundation has a very successful s/n program now in it's third year. It was established with the help of Rebecca Cory's s/n program for Pits. She very generously shared her business plan with us and it works very well. We offer it across the country for all dog breeds and cats. It's organized and run through local rescues who do all the work, from signing people up to being there the whole day/days and everything else that is necessary to spay and neuter as many animals as possible. We simply underwrite the funds for the days. Since our first Namaste Day event in March 2023, we have underwritten surgeries for nearly 5314 dogs and cats at an average price of $72 per animal, including pain meds, rabies, and microchips. We have about 20 multi-day Namaste events set to take place over the next few months, where another 1,800 pets will be altered at an average price of $60 per animal. And it's only the beginning for this year. Anyone can see what we're doing by watching a video of the Namaste program on our web sight: JasonHeigl.foundation. I know this is a drop in the bucket but it's a beginning and this year we are going to try and committ one million dollars to this program.
Nancy, you and Kate are my heroes. What you’ve built through the Jason Heigl Foundation’s Namaste program is nothing short of extraordinary. The scale, efficiency, and compassion behind your spay/neuter work are exactly what this movement needs—real impact, not empty slogans. Thank you for leading with heart, integrity, and results.
There's also a shortage of veterinarians in the UK. Brexit didn't help. Many European-trained veterinarians living and working in the UK returned to their home countries. Also, there has been a consolidation of veterinary practices and hospitals. It's rare to find a traditional independent vet who has served a community for decades. Now, they are corporate conglomerates.
Hi Kim, thank you for sharing your perspective from the UK-it’s incredibly valuable to see how these challenges cross borders.
You are correct, the consolidation of independent practices into large corporate groups has accelerated, with only about 40-45% of practices now independently owned-down from nearly 90% just a decade ago. This shift has raised concerns about reduced choice, higher costs, and less community-focused care, as highlighted by the Competition and Markets Authority. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/takeover-of-eight-vet-businesses-could-increase-costs-for-animal-owners
It’s a parallel story to what we’re seeing elsewhere: workforce shortages, corporate consolidation, and the loss of long-standing community vets. Thank you for highlighting these important issues and contributing to the conversation!
Thanks, Marc. It’s important to note that Koret is actually part of the Consortium, which is why we need a truly independent audit of how these grant funds are being used. Accountability is long overdue.
At this point, should we escalate this federally? Because clearly, California’s internal oversight isn’t working. Accountability must come from outside the Consortium!
Thank you Ed but it's Katherine's heart and generosity that makes all this possible. Also, the people at Badlands dog food and their care about the animals.
Nancy, it truly takes a team of incredible hearts—yours, Katherine's, and the folks at Badlands—to make this all happen. You’re all proving that when we work together, lives are saved. Keep shining!
As a strong supporter and funder of spay/neuter programs in rural, isolated and low-income communities, I think you for raising this issue. It would help me amplify it if I had more specific information documenting the reduced emphasis on spay/neuter, particularly reductions in funding. Just knowing that consortium members are promoting community-focused rescue, etc. doesn’t provide enough information. Thank you.
Thank you so much for your ongoing commitment to spay/neuter access in rural and underserved communities. Your question about concrete evidence of reduced emphasis and funding is an important one.
Recent studies and reports confirm that spay/neuter surgeries dropped sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic and, in many areas, have not returned to pre-pandemic levels. For example, a peer-reviewed study found that by the end of 2021, U.S. clinics had performed an estimated 2.7 million fewer spay/neuter surgeries than expected, with rural and low-income communities especially hard hit. This backlog is compounded by ongoing veterinary workforce shortages, further limiting recovery and access to services.
In terms of funding, some states have struggled to release or maintain dedicated spay/neuter funds. For instance, New Mexico’s statewide spay/neuter fund-created to support low-cost services-has over $2 million sitting unused due to ongoing legal disputes, leaving organizations without promised resources to serve at-risk populations. Meanwhile, national organizations have shifted focus toward community-based rescue and access-to-care models, which does not always include direct investment in spay/neuter capacity.
Cutting back on spay/neuter is so disturbing. On the San Diego Humane Society's Walk for Animals fundraising page, they claim that they performed 21,000 spay/neuter surgeries per year. If they only have 20 spay/neuter appointments per month, dump 3,000 altered cats per year on the street in their Community Cat Program, then they are claiming they did surgeries on 17,000 + the 3,000 cats of the 30,000 shelter animals that they accept in the shelter. The numbers don't sound correct. It's hard to believe any of their propaganda...
Hi Suzanne, thank you for sharing your concerns-you're definitely not alone in noticing these inconsistencies. It’s understandable to question how these figures add up, especially when the public-facing availability appears so limited. Transparency and clear reporting are crucial, especially as shelters face increased scrutiny over their policies and priorities. Your skepticism is valid, and it’s important for organizations to provide clear, accurate data so the community can trust and support their lifesaving work.
Thanks for being such a thoughtful advocate for animals!
A small, but passionate group showed up to protest at the Walk for Animals in San Diego. Two of the administrators tried to stand in front of me with their plastic pom-poms and out-yell me to no avail. I just walked away from them with my megaphone. I couldn't hear anything the participants said, but was told we were called liberals. This makes me laugh, as the first dog rescue I volunteered with was run by cigarette smoking, gun loving, meat eating, abortion hating conservatives. They were all wonderful people with whom I didn't discuss politics. Loving pets is not a liberal or conservative issue. Or at least it shouldn't be.
I understand there are alternatives to full castration and hysterectomies that are being performed currently. Could this be an answer to the spay neuter problem? It promises to be less invasive with shorter time for the procedure. Many years ago an oral
medication for sterility was being developed. I am not sure if that option has been perfected.
Is there a reason no one is pursing a stop to breeding? I believe it makes sense for money to be sent hiring, training, and implementing an enforcement team to slow down the breeding!
We are spinning our wheels due to the exponential numbers of animals born to this World for $$, nothing else😖
Thanks for your thoughtful comment, Tina. You're absolutely right—less invasive sterilization methods and oral contraceptives have long been explored as alternatives, and they could be game-changers if made safe, affordable, and widely available. Unfortunately, progress has been slow, and funding for enforcement and breeding restrictions is often overlooked. You're not alone in thinking we need to focus more on stopping the problem at its source—intentional and irresponsible breeding. That’s a conversation we absolutely need to keep pushing forward.
Another priority needs to be large female dogs and female feral cats Smaller dogs tend to have smaller litters and are usually more easily adopted while large breed dogs can have huge litters. Female feral cats can start having litters very young (think 4-6 months) with low survival rates at that age and can have several litters per year. One intact male can impregnate multiple un-spayed females over a very large geographic area. Spays do take more time and experience but provide more success for each dollar spent.
Great points, Melissa. You're absolutely right—targeting large female dogs and female feral cats can have an outsized impact on reducing intake and preventing suffering. Prioritizing spays, especially in high-risk populations, is one of the smartest and most effective ways to stretch limited resources. Thanks for highlighting this crucial piece of the puzzle.
SO WELL WRITTEN! And you have captured several paths we can take to revert to a model proven to work. Thank you for that.
One other factor in the vet shortage crisis, which a number of us see, is that with the new "no- barrier adoptions" (I.e. no effort to see if the adopters can afford the pet, have a vet or have landlord permission} and worse, the "limited admission" more and more animals who would have had a soft landing with a safety net, are now sent back to the street either by the shelters that did not screen or follow up, or by the adoptive families who just could not manage to feed, house and get medical care for their new pet - handed to them by a care-less shelter. And they comprise a large number of cats and dogs who should get vet care but do not. There are just not enough vets to take care of all these animals who end up without a capable and caring "pet parent."
So part of the "vet shortage" is due to the high cost of vet schools and the need to repay student loans, part is the takeover of private practices by corporations looking to provide large profits, but also the huge number of cats and dogs without adopter/ humans to care for them and take them to a vet.
Again, thank you for pointing out the problems but also some solutions. I would hope that every person who is reading your column and agreeing would invite ten others to join the Substack - and ask each of them to ask ten more. We are very impressed with your clarity and think it needs to reach more people out there who are still confused by the public narrative so well financed by a few. Readers, please consider doing this!
Thank you for your continued insight and guidance.
Myself and several of my animal rescue friends have formed a group called Stop Pet Overpopulation in Ga. It is a grassroots effort that we are gaining in number. We know that those of us who are active in animal welfare in one way or another, are sick and tired of the killing. And we are sick of the national so called animal welfare groups not making S/N the number one priority. We all know that we will never adopt our way out of this human created crisis where the voiceless are the ones that pay with their lives.
This is disappointing to read. It is shocking in the underlying callousness and cruelty. There are a lot of animal lovers on this Substack; I hope they will see this and respond. I had no awareness that spay/neuter was under assault; it makes no sense, except in the control greed. I will contact my representatives in Congress, however both senators are MAGA.
Los Angeles City Council File 23-0452 would enable LA City to increase the spay/neuter voucher amounts for dogs, cats and rabbits to amounts that would at least cover costs at the local clinics and enable more veterinarians to sign onto the program. These vouchers reimburse veterinarians who neuter animals for the shelters; more importantly, they also help low-income pet owners outside the shelters to get their animals neutered. As of today, not a single clinic is accepting the free vouchers for rabbits for low-income members of the public.
Rabbits reproduce at a rate far exceeding that of dogs and cats, with a pair of rabbits and their progeny producing hundreds of rabbits in one year and growing to billions over time (look at Australia for an example of possible consequences). Yet in an astounding development, rabbits were EXCLUDED at the first committee hearing. IF this file moves forward to the Budget and Finance Committee, it's critical that rabbits be put back in before moving to full council for a vote. This is a no-brainer, low-cost investment with a high return, yet by no means a sure thing, given L.A. City's budget shortfall.
Meanwhile, rabbit welfare organizations in the L.A. area are seeing a dramatic uptick in reports of abandoned rabbits and requests to take in rabbits. It appears that some shelters are actively discouraging impound, resulting in fewer rabbits being neutered as they continue to breed out of control, suffer and die in communities surrounding these shelters. Restricted intake harms prey animals most of all.
Ed, once again, this is a very informative email. I am especially appalled at the following paragraph. Something I always sensed was going on. Everyone of the consortium group should be forced to walk these innocent souls down the hall to die. More awareness in this country is necessary to stop all their funding. It's disgusting that they consider themselves animal advocates. The paragraph I'm speaking of: By shifting focus to managed intake, foster care, transports, and loosely defined “community interventions,” The Consortium* isn’t innovating—it’s perpetuating a profitable crisis. This model manufactures the appearance of lifesaving success while trapping shelters in a relentless cycle of intake and euthanasia that keeps the donations flowing and the problem unsolved. Nancy Heigl
Thank you, Nancy. Your passion and clarity are powerful—and shared by many who’ve seen the devastating effects of these misguided policies firsthand. The more people like you speak out, the harder it becomes for The Consortium to hide behind their rhetoric. Together, we can bring real accountability and restore integrity to this movement.
Nancy, thank you!! I kept thinking "how does this serve them" and your take (sadly) answers the question.
One of additional things we've started doing is working with United Spay Alliance to hold HQHVSN trainings for existing vets. A lot of the newer vets didn't get much S/N practice because of COVID shutdowns and don't have confidence with the animals we most need altered (larger female dogs and female cats) and even more established vets continue to use the techniques they learned in law school which are slower and have higher complication rates. The trainings are one-day, held at local to the vets being trained, cost ~$6500 (but include about 40 cat surgeries or 20 dog surgeries), and train 4 vets at a time. The DeKalb County (GA) government has funded one cat and one dog training so far and committed to 2 more of each in the next fiscal year, as well as funding 250-animal spayathons targeted at female animals in the areas of the county with more overproduction issues. We're working to get commitments from other local governments to fund the package of 2-trainings and a targeted spayathon.
This is fantastic, Lemonade. Training vets through United Spay Alliance is exactly the kind of practical, scalable solution we need right now. I especially appreciate the focus on high-impact surgeries and targeted spayathons in overproduction areas—smart, data-driven, and community-focused. Keep up the great work and thanks for sharing a model others can follow.
I've been following this issue in Arizona for a long time as there are large swaths of many counties especially expansive Cochise County with no vet access, HQHVSN (High Quality high Volume Spay Neuter) or otherwise, with few exceptions. Arizona Humane Society, a Scottsdale based very wealthy chapter (CEO annual compensation 400K+++ etc) boasted vet training prompting donations but where do the trained vets go??
According to Dr. Jeff Young (Rocky Mt Vet series), a majority then practice in private clinics, often private equity owned for maximum profit extraction or human intervention specialties like advanced cancer or kidney transplants, or other invasive inhumane interventions that only offer a pet limited life extension.
In YouTube video Dr. Jeff Talks About the Future of Veterinary Medicine & Why The Industry is at a Crossroads.
Maddies Fund Shelter Medicine apparently developing new drugs for big pharma/big money licensing that most can't afford? (Biomedical research in Pacific Northwest, a priority destination for BFAS transports).
It's fairly obvious the systematic dismissal of HQHVSN, foundation of No Kill, by Maddies, BFAS and accomplices was deliberate for overpopulation and shelter crisis to create "the community is the shelter" as a business model now with explosion of goods/services/DATA MINING software.
Note how many software businessmen are behind the "community is the shelter" business model, the fleets of transport companies, Home to Home, and of course Maddies Fund, the whale Duffield as "Peoplesoft" multi-billionaire who correctly assessed the financialization of all things related to massive over population of companion animals was a gold mine, including donors databases responding to emotional pleas of distressed homeless as monopolized by their funded accomplice BFAS.
Not funding scholarships with requirements to serve in shelters or HQHVSN outreach, and widescale integrating training programs with shelters, which they could easily fund with their collective billions, is the way to create a perpetual crisis for exploitation.
This deliberate strategy has been documented and I have seen examples of BFAS deliberately not funding a s/n clinic at impoverished shelter participating in their "embed program". Instead a private donor paid for ASAVET mobile unit to provide low-cost s/n for 30 shelter dogs.
There is no reason Maddies, BFAS and accomplices can't fund s/n outreach similar as Dr. Jeff mobilized on many episodes, Spay Neuter Alliance or other orgs demonstrate.
Instead, BFAS just contacted volunteers to be drivers for 1-3 day drives transporting dogs around the Western States with their fleet. This is their investment priority!! Really?? what state has a shortage of mostly big, unaltered or behavioral dogs (NOT cute friendly healthy) ?? I desperation to keep the No Kill without population prevention fantasy going going. and bring in new donors for a great visual of "lifesaving transports".
Carmen, thank you for laying this out so clearly and passionately. You connect the dots in a way few others do. The systematic sidelining of HQHVSN and prevention-based solutions in favor of profit-driven optics is exactly what’s driving the crisis—and voices like yours are essential to calling it out.
Thank you Ed. I would also like to add that the Jason Heigl Foundation has a very successful s/n program now in it's third year. It was established with the help of Rebecca Cory's s/n program for Pits. She very generously shared her business plan with us and it works very well. We offer it across the country for all dog breeds and cats. It's organized and run through local rescues who do all the work, from signing people up to being there the whole day/days and everything else that is necessary to spay and neuter as many animals as possible. We simply underwrite the funds for the days. Since our first Namaste Day event in March 2023, we have underwritten surgeries for nearly 5314 dogs and cats at an average price of $72 per animal, including pain meds, rabies, and microchips. We have about 20 multi-day Namaste events set to take place over the next few months, where another 1,800 pets will be altered at an average price of $60 per animal. And it's only the beginning for this year. Anyone can see what we're doing by watching a video of the Namaste program on our web sight: JasonHeigl.foundation. I know this is a drop in the bucket but it's a beginning and this year we are going to try and committ one million dollars to this program.
Nancy, you and Kate are my heroes. What you’ve built through the Jason Heigl Foundation’s Namaste program is nothing short of extraordinary. The scale, efficiency, and compassion behind your spay/neuter work are exactly what this movement needs—real impact, not empty slogans. Thank you for leading with heart, integrity, and results.
There's also a shortage of veterinarians in the UK. Brexit didn't help. Many European-trained veterinarians living and working in the UK returned to their home countries. Also, there has been a consolidation of veterinary practices and hospitals. It's rare to find a traditional independent vet who has served a community for decades. Now, they are corporate conglomerates.
Hi Kim, thank you for sharing your perspective from the UK-it’s incredibly valuable to see how these challenges cross borders.
You are correct, the consolidation of independent practices into large corporate groups has accelerated, with only about 40-45% of practices now independently owned-down from nearly 90% just a decade ago. This shift has raised concerns about reduced choice, higher costs, and less community-focused care, as highlighted by the Competition and Markets Authority. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/takeover-of-eight-vet-businesses-could-increase-costs-for-animal-owners
It’s a parallel story to what we’re seeing elsewhere: workforce shortages, corporate consolidation, and the loss of long-standing community vets. Thank you for highlighting these important issues and contributing to the conversation!
To contact UC Davis about an audit of the grant monies earmarked for spay & neuter by San Diego Humane Society - please contact:
Koret Shelter
Medicine Program
sheltermedicine@ucdavis.edu
Thanks, Marc. It’s important to note that Koret is actually part of the Consortium, which is why we need a truly independent audit of how these grant funds are being used. Accountability is long overdue.
At this point, should we escalate this federally? Because clearly, California’s internal oversight isn’t working. Accountability must come from outside the Consortium!
Thank you Ed but it's Katherine's heart and generosity that makes all this possible. Also, the people at Badlands dog food and their care about the animals.
Nancy, it truly takes a team of incredible hearts—yours, Katherine's, and the folks at Badlands—to make this all happen. You’re all proving that when we work together, lives are saved. Keep shining!
As a strong supporter and funder of spay/neuter programs in rural, isolated and low-income communities, I think you for raising this issue. It would help me amplify it if I had more specific information documenting the reduced emphasis on spay/neuter, particularly reductions in funding. Just knowing that consortium members are promoting community-focused rescue, etc. doesn’t provide enough information. Thank you.
Hi Patty,
Thank you so much for your ongoing commitment to spay/neuter access in rural and underserved communities. Your question about concrete evidence of reduced emphasis and funding is an important one.
Recent studies and reports confirm that spay/neuter surgeries dropped sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic and, in many areas, have not returned to pre-pandemic levels. For example, a peer-reviewed study found that by the end of 2021, U.S. clinics had performed an estimated 2.7 million fewer spay/neuter surgeries than expected, with rural and low-income communities especially hard hit. This backlog is compounded by ongoing veterinary workforce shortages, further limiting recovery and access to services.
In terms of funding, some states have struggled to release or maintain dedicated spay/neuter funds. For instance, New Mexico’s statewide spay/neuter fund-created to support low-cost services-has over $2 million sitting unused due to ongoing legal disputes, leaving organizations without promised resources to serve at-risk populations. Meanwhile, national organizations have shifted focus toward community-based rescue and access-to-care models, which does not always include direct investment in spay/neuter capacity.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9513967/
https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/state-spay-and-neuter-funding-remains-in-legal-limbo/
https://animalpolitics.substack.com/p/position-statements-on-regressive
Best,
Ed
Cutting back on spay/neuter is so disturbing. On the San Diego Humane Society's Walk for Animals fundraising page, they claim that they performed 21,000 spay/neuter surgeries per year. If they only have 20 spay/neuter appointments per month, dump 3,000 altered cats per year on the street in their Community Cat Program, then they are claiming they did surgeries on 17,000 + the 3,000 cats of the 30,000 shelter animals that they accept in the shelter. The numbers don't sound correct. It's hard to believe any of their propaganda...
Hi Suzanne, thank you for sharing your concerns-you're definitely not alone in noticing these inconsistencies. It’s understandable to question how these figures add up, especially when the public-facing availability appears so limited. Transparency and clear reporting are crucial, especially as shelters face increased scrutiny over their policies and priorities. Your skepticism is valid, and it’s important for organizations to provide clear, accurate data so the community can trust and support their lifesaving work.
Thanks for being such a thoughtful advocate for animals!
A small, but passionate group showed up to protest at the Walk for Animals in San Diego. Two of the administrators tried to stand in front of me with their plastic pom-poms and out-yell me to no avail. I just walked away from them with my megaphone. I couldn't hear anything the participants said, but was told we were called liberals. This makes me laugh, as the first dog rescue I volunteered with was run by cigarette smoking, gun loving, meat eating, abortion hating conservatives. They were all wonderful people with whom I didn't discuss politics. Loving pets is not a liberal or conservative issue. Or at least it shouldn't be.
I understand there are alternatives to full castration and hysterectomies that are being performed currently. Could this be an answer to the spay neuter problem? It promises to be less invasive with shorter time for the procedure. Many years ago an oral
medication for sterility was being developed. I am not sure if that option has been perfected.
Is there a reason no one is pursing a stop to breeding? I believe it makes sense for money to be sent hiring, training, and implementing an enforcement team to slow down the breeding!
We are spinning our wheels due to the exponential numbers of animals born to this World for $$, nothing else😖
Thanks for your thoughtful comment, Tina. You're absolutely right—less invasive sterilization methods and oral contraceptives have long been explored as alternatives, and they could be game-changers if made safe, affordable, and widely available. Unfortunately, progress has been slow, and funding for enforcement and breeding restrictions is often overlooked. You're not alone in thinking we need to focus more on stopping the problem at its source—intentional and irresponsible breeding. That’s a conversation we absolutely need to keep pushing forward.
Another priority needs to be large female dogs and female feral cats Smaller dogs tend to have smaller litters and are usually more easily adopted while large breed dogs can have huge litters. Female feral cats can start having litters very young (think 4-6 months) with low survival rates at that age and can have several litters per year. One intact male can impregnate multiple un-spayed females over a very large geographic area. Spays do take more time and experience but provide more success for each dollar spent.
Great points, Melissa. You're absolutely right—targeting large female dogs and female feral cats can have an outsized impact on reducing intake and preventing suffering. Prioritizing spays, especially in high-risk populations, is one of the smartest and most effective ways to stretch limited resources. Thanks for highlighting this crucial piece of the puzzle.
SO WELL WRITTEN! And you have captured several paths we can take to revert to a model proven to work. Thank you for that.
One other factor in the vet shortage crisis, which a number of us see, is that with the new "no- barrier adoptions" (I.e. no effort to see if the adopters can afford the pet, have a vet or have landlord permission} and worse, the "limited admission" more and more animals who would have had a soft landing with a safety net, are now sent back to the street either by the shelters that did not screen or follow up, or by the adoptive families who just could not manage to feed, house and get medical care for their new pet - handed to them by a care-less shelter. And they comprise a large number of cats and dogs who should get vet care but do not. There are just not enough vets to take care of all these animals who end up without a capable and caring "pet parent."
So part of the "vet shortage" is due to the high cost of vet schools and the need to repay student loans, part is the takeover of private practices by corporations looking to provide large profits, but also the huge number of cats and dogs without adopter/ humans to care for them and take them to a vet.
Again, thank you for pointing out the problems but also some solutions. I would hope that every person who is reading your column and agreeing would invite ten others to join the Substack - and ask each of them to ask ten more. We are very impressed with your clarity and think it needs to reach more people out there who are still confused by the public narrative so well financed by a few. Readers, please consider doing this!
Thank you for your continued insight and guidance.
Myself and several of my animal rescue friends have formed a group called Stop Pet Overpopulation in Ga. It is a grassroots effort that we are gaining in number. We know that those of us who are active in animal welfare in one way or another, are sick and tired of the killing. And we are sick of the national so called animal welfare groups not making S/N the number one priority. We all know that we will never adopt our way out of this human created crisis where the voiceless are the ones that pay with their lives.
This is disappointing to read. It is shocking in the underlying callousness and cruelty. There are a lot of animal lovers on this Substack; I hope they will see this and respond. I had no awareness that spay/neuter was under assault; it makes no sense, except in the control greed. I will contact my representatives in Congress, however both senators are MAGA.
Los Angeles City Council File 23-0452 would enable LA City to increase the spay/neuter voucher amounts for dogs, cats and rabbits to amounts that would at least cover costs at the local clinics and enable more veterinarians to sign onto the program. These vouchers reimburse veterinarians who neuter animals for the shelters; more importantly, they also help low-income pet owners outside the shelters to get their animals neutered. As of today, not a single clinic is accepting the free vouchers for rabbits for low-income members of the public.
Rabbits reproduce at a rate far exceeding that of dogs and cats, with a pair of rabbits and their progeny producing hundreds of rabbits in one year and growing to billions over time (look at Australia for an example of possible consequences). Yet in an astounding development, rabbits were EXCLUDED at the first committee hearing. IF this file moves forward to the Budget and Finance Committee, it's critical that rabbits be put back in before moving to full council for a vote. This is a no-brainer, low-cost investment with a high return, yet by no means a sure thing, given L.A. City's budget shortfall.
Meanwhile, rabbit welfare organizations in the L.A. area are seeing a dramatic uptick in reports of abandoned rabbits and requests to take in rabbits. It appears that some shelters are actively discouraging impound, resulting in fewer rabbits being neutered as they continue to breed out of control, suffer and die in communities surrounding these shelters. Restricted intake harms prey animals most of all.
Link to the Council File: https://cityclerk.lacity.org/lacityclerkconnect/index.cfm?fa=ccfi.viewrecord&cfnumber=23-0452