Meghan Bisesi
Professor Taylor
WRT202-118
30 April 2010
Over Breeding Causing the Pet Population to Continue to Grow
11,000 shelter animals are euthanized a day. This occurs because this country has a pet
overpopulation problem. It is uncertain when the pet population got out of control however it is
now known what it causing the population to continue to grow. Puppy mills produce around 4
million puppies a year. This statistic alone can prove how big of an issue this is for our country.
The pet population has been a topic on many researchers’ minds. Already, there have been
multiple proposed solutions, but none of these solutions have been enacted. Many things need to
occur for this problem to be fixed, starting with educating the general public. Most people
overlook the growing number of dogs and cats in this country, and in reality it causes an
immense amount of problems for humans and the animals. Also, most people don’t know that
they are contributing to the problem or at least doing nothing to help stop it. The overpopulation
of cats and dogs in this country is harming these animals, the economy, and humanity in general.
Several causes for this problem are puppy mills, celebrity influence, lack of sterilization, and
partially the animal shelters. The causes and effects of the pet overpopulation will be examined
in this paper as well as suggesting new solutions on how to fix the problem we have created.
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Puppy mills can be defined as a large scale breeding facility that produces large numbers
of puppies for profit. They are also the main reason for pet overpopulation in this country. In
general, most people don’t understand the amount of issues that come from puppy mills. One
main issue is that these “breeders” breed multiple different breeds and often produce hybrid
dogs. Hybrid dogs are essentially mixed breeds. A problem with breeding so many different
breeds at the same time is that there is no focus on the health of these dogs, in particular the
breeding stock. Breeding stock are the dogs that are continuously bred. According to the
American Kennel Club, females go into their first gestational period at around six months of age.
If deciding to breed a dog, the female should not carry her first litter until she reaches full sexual
maturity. For most breeds this is around two years old. At a puppy mill, the females are bred
during their first heat cycle and bred every heat cycle until they become sterile which is around
four to five years old. After this point, the sterile breeding stock is usually shot. The result of
breeding this often is thousands of puppies, the majority of which have health and behavioral
issues. So, where do all these puppies go? Puppy mills are often the suppliers of pet shops. They
also advertise in newspapers, and on the internet.
Not only do puppy mills produce an immense amount of puppies yearly, but they also
contribute to the animal cruelty statistics in addition to producing very unhealthy puppies.
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania is a hot spot for puppy mills. Most of the operators are Amish.
The Amish do not see animals as pets or as part of a family. They tend to see animals as
machinery or as a cash crop. This view causes these puppy mill operators to give these animals
no human interaction, small cages, and little to no veterinary care. This cruelty isn’t only limited
to the Amish, the majority of puppy mill operators think with the same mind set. The dogs in
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puppy mills are simply dollar signs. To the operators, it doesn’t matter if they are unhealthy,
crammed into cages, and maybe never see sunlight or get to run. However, many state and local
governments are now stepping in.
New York Times reports that a new law passed in 2008 for the state of Pennsylvania will
be one of the strictest dog breeding laws in the nation. This law will increase minimum cage
sizes, require veterinary care, demand exercise periods, and ban wire flooring. The law is an
accomplishment for animal rights activists. It will not erase the problem of puppy mills, but it
will make them a more humane place for the dogs to live. Mr. Yarnall, a member of the dog
breeders’ advisory council predicted that about 70% of Pennsylvania breeders may shut down
because the cost of compliance is too high.
Celebrity influence on the general population is also a cause for the pet overpopulation.
The celebrities show off their pure bred and hybrid dogs and thus create an even greater demand
for these dogs. Also, celebrities are supporting the causes for pet overpopulation rather than
being an example and trying to fix it. For example, a pet shop in L.A. was temporarily shut down
because of the suspicion that the puppies were bought from puppy mills. Paris Hilton, Demi
Moore, and Clint Black among others have bought puppies from this shop. According to People
magazine, the Humane Society of the United States had been conducting a three month
investigation at this shop. Because there is no law against buying dogs from puppy mills, the
shop was not shut down completely. However, they now have to post where every dog came
from.
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Before the Obama’s decided to get a purebred dog, they looked into getting a hybrid
because of one of the children’s allergies. If they would have purchased a hybrid it would have
caused a surge in these hybrid or “designer” dogs. About 20% of the dogs bred in puppy mills
are designer breeds (Smalley). In general, there is now a greater demand for these designer dogs
because the buyer is essentially getting the best of both worlds of the two dogs that were bred
together. As Americans, we look to the celebrities for ideas on fashion, language, and behavior.
If celebrities keep carelessly buying dogs from pet shops the demand for more puppies will
continue to increase. This would then result in the number of unwanted animals to also increase.
With unwanted animals, comes the problem of the animal shelters. Each year 6-8 million
pets enter shelters or rescues (HSUS). On average about half of them get adopted; the other half
are euthanized. Of the pets that do get euthanized, about 5 out of 10 dogs and 7 out of 10 cats are
put down simply because no one adopted them (ASPCA). The Humane Society of the United
States, HSUS, estimates that there are only around 3,500 animal shelters in the country. This
would mean that each shelter, on average, cares for 1,700-2,300 animals a year. These shelters
are mostly non-profit organizations. This means they operate off of donations and volunteer
workers. If no volunteers existed then no one would be there to care for the animals. The people
caring for these unwanted animals are busy trying to clean up the mess society has made,
however society is paying for it. Animalkind.org states that the tax payers spend up to $2 billion
a year on services to collect, house, destroy, and dispose of unwanted animals.
A study published in the Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science looked into reasons
for euthanasia. The researchers sent a survey out to 200 shelters and 186 responded. The shelters
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that responded admitted that they didn’t have clear criteria for what deems a dog unadoptable.
Being deemed unadoptable means the pet will be euthanized. “Reducing euthanasia among these
animals will likely demand new, innovative programs such as behavioral modification,
socialization, rehabilitation, and other efforts, as well as a radical rethinking of the role of
shelters”, (Wenstrup and Dowidchuk). Unfortunately most shelters do not have the housing
capacity, time, or money to spend rehabilitating animals. However, if all shelters had strict and
clear criteria for unadoptability, then maybe most pets wouldn’t be euthanized so readily.
Adoption rates are low, and this also causes more pets to be put down. Ed Boks believes that if
our shelters were not placed near sanitation facilities and other relatively hidden areas, more
people would go into the shelters. About 70 million Americans own pets, and most people would
not support euthanizing an animal because there isn’t enough room if they knew how much this
was going on.
There are so many shelter animals because sterilization isn’t a priority among pet owners.
Not sterilizing a pet results in a surge of unwanted litters and contributes to the overpopulation
problem. USA Today surveyed 3,000 adults, including 1,000 who have inquired a dog or cat
within the past year. About half of the pet owners had yet to sterilize their pet. The survey also
found that most adults are unaware of how dramatic the pet overpopulation problem is and are
unsure of when to fix their pets. It is estimated that southerners and people under the age of 35
are less likely to sterilize their pets (USA Today). Also, 13% of dog owners and 19% of cat
owners who hadn’t sterilized their pets wound up with unwanted litters.
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A reason for owners not sterilizing their pets is because it can be costly. Over recent
years, many animal welfare groups have created solutions to the cost problem with sterilization.
There are now multiple free or low cost clinics that can sterilize pets in every state. In fact, the
ASPCA found that the cost of spaying/neutering your pet is less than the cost of raising a litter
for one year. The next question would be, then why don’t people just fix their pets? Well, most
people are uneducated about what more unwanted litters can do. They don’t care or they want to
breed their pets to make some quick money. However some owners simply don’t want to put
their pet through surgery. This is causing people to look into new ways to sterilize pets.
The Alliance for Contraception in Cats and Dogs (ACC&D) bring together researchers in
hopes of determining a non-surgical way to sterilize pets. This movement is moving slowly
because the pharmaceutical companies have yet to see this as a profitable investment (Spay
USA). Other people are trying to push this issue as well like Gary Michelson. Michelson is a
very rich, retired surgeon. He has offered up to $75 million to the person who comes up with a
non-invasive sterilization method. He believes that if no unwanted litters where born then the
shelters wouldn’t be euthanizing as many pets (USA Today). Both Michelson and ACC&D
believe that finding alternative solutions for sterilization would decrease the amount of shelter
animals. Animalkind.org reports that there are multiple benefits in sterilizing pets such as the
animals tend to live 2-3 years longer, they are less likely to bite, and they are protected from
different types of deadly cancers. Even though there are benefits to sterilization, only about 75%
of Americans actually sterilize their pets.
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Puppy mills, celebrity influence, as well as the lack of sterilization are all causes of pet
overpopulation. Puppy mills create millions of puppies a year and it is nearly impossible to find
each one a home. They are also unregulated which causes them to not care after the dogs
properly. Also, Americans analyze what celebrities do. For example, if celebrities are
advertising buying hybrid dogs then the general population is going to want hybrid dogs.
Celebrities are unintentionally creating a greater demand for puppies. A quarter of Americans are
still not sterilizing their pets. This is creating a surge in unwanted litters, which in return causes a
surge in animals in shelters. Numerous laws and regulations need to be put into place to help
solve this problem. For one, this country needs to have federal laws regulating breeders. It should
be harder for someone to become a registered breeder, and they should be restricted on the
amount of dogs they can breed at one time. This would essentially shut down puppy mills, or at
least make them less severe and more humane. Currently, it is illegal to sell a puppy that is
diseased. If a breeder breaks this law then they have to at least return the buyer’s money. The
penalty should be stricter than that. Breeding is a responsibility. If a breeder sells a sick, injured,
or diseased puppy then they should have to pay a heavy fine, all of the veterinary bills for the
health issue, and have their license revoked if it occurs a second time. Pet overpopulation has
gotten out of control because the laws in place regarding breeding are never enforced. Stricter
regulation and enforcing the laws will help decrease or at least slow down the incline of pets
entering shelters. Also, a new sterilization method should be introduced to make sterilization
non-invasive. This would make it easier on the pet and on the owner. In order to truly fix this
problem we, as a society, need to change. We need to stop the demand for puppies, start rescuing
more animals, and simply start caring.