Vegas Pets Must Be Spayed, Neutered

Beginning on April 1st, Las Vegas Valley pet owners will be required by law to spay and neuter their 4-month-old cats and dogs. The Las Vegas City Council approved the measure on Wednesday. The vote passed with a margin of 5 to 2.

The new ordinance was very well received by local veterinarians and animal rescue groups. Both veterinarians and rescue workers felt that this was the best way to combat the overpopulation issue. At the Lied Animal Shelter, the number of impounded dogs has increased 10% a year for the past three years, and cat intakes have been up 5% annually. The shelter now takes in about 50,000 animals a year and ends up euthanizing half of them because owners or new homes can't be found. Amy Mitchell, a veterinarian at the shelter said “we have to nip the problem in the bud.”

However, the new bill was also met with some staunch criticism. After speaking with several veterinarians, city council member Lois Tarkanian strongly opposed the bill, claiming that 4 months was too young for a pet to be sterilized and stated that she wouldn’t vote for any law that required sterilization under 6 months of age. Mike Connell of the Silver State Kennel Association argued that performing a spay/neuter surgery at 4 months of age would be, “a mutilation of a tender young body." Karen Coyne, the head of the city’s detention and enforcement department acknowledged these complaints, but still believed “…that doing nothing qualifies as the definition of insanity.” Mayor Oscar Goodman simply said "we're not going to accept this kind of behavior."

The overpopulation of unwanted pets is a problem that must be addressed not only in Las Vegas, but also in other areas around the world. At Lied, which provides shelter services to Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, and unincorporated areas of Clark County, 86% of the animals taken in are not sterilized, according to Director Christine Robinson. The number of abandoned, runaway, or homeless pets has reached critical mass and as such,  new measures must be implemented in order to ensure that this trend does not continue. Robinson later went on to say that in order for the numbers to decline, we must prevent our pets from reproducing. “The way we solve this problem is to reduce these numbers on the front end.”

Although the city of Las Vegas has an unfortunate problem on their hands, sadly this is also one that is indicative of a larger wordwide issue. The ordinance, which will go into effect on April 1st, is specifically designed to tackle this glaring problem. The ordinance will be reviewed annually to ensure that it is effectively decreasing the growing population amongst pets.
 

Weigh in: Do you think laws like this would help control the number of unwanted animals in other cities? What do you think the solution is? Comment below!