Prevent Stray Animal Euthanizations

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Target: Matthew Bershadker, President of the United States ASPCA

Goal: Persuade the ASPCA to put more funds toward nationwide catch-spay-release programs for male dogs and cats in order to prevent stray animal over breeding and population growth

At any given time, there are over 70 million stray dogs and cats living in alleyways or behind dumpsters in every city, town, suburb and hamlet in the United States. They can and sometimes do cause damage to people and property in their search for a good meal and a warm place to sleep. Of these strays, only approximately 8 million ever make it to animal shelters and devastatingly, less than half of these are ever adopted.  The rest are fed and housed until their time is up and then they are humanely euthanized.  That is nearly 10,000 cats and dogs per day that are being put to sleep.  We can and we must do something to change this.

Capture, spay and release programs are the best way to help prevent a massive population growth in the areas where stray dogs and cats make their homes.  You may think that it’s better to neuter the male rather than spay the female, or to do both equally, but keep this in mind: male dogs can potentially fertilize dozens of females. Even if 9 in 10 male cats or dogs are neutered, that one remaining male will be able to fertilize all, or almost all, of the females, leading to a much higher stray population.

It costs approximately $40 to neuter a male dog or cat.  Even if programs like this come out of taxpayer money, it is still cheaper than sending the animals to a shelter.  It costs $100 or more per animal to feed, house, and eventually euthanize them after their stay at the shelter comes to an end.  There is no excuse for the wanton slaughter of these animals when we have the capability to reduce or prevent future population booms without the need to euthanize them.


Dear Mr. Bershadker,

We are sitting on an atrocity. 10,000 cats and dogs lose their lives every single day due to underfunded and overpopulated shelters.  There is something we can do, but we need your help.

We ask that you fund increased catch–spay–and-release programs designed to inhibit the stray cat or dog’s ability to breed without taking its life in the process.  It is a proven fact that it is less expensive to spay or neuter and release an animal than it is to capture, feed, house and eventually euthanize it. Increasing the funding to programs like this will, in the long run, reducing the massive overpopulation of not only stray animals, but those who are condemned to short lives in the numerous shelters around the country.

Further, by focusing these programs on females, we can make a bigger dent in the overpopulation problem, as just one male dog or cat can fertilize many females.

You can help us prevent countless more innocent animals from losing their lives.


[Your Name Here]

Photo credit: Nhandler via Wikipedia

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