Our Man in Washington
(Page 2 of 3)
September/October 1973
By Mike Kiernan
"There are just incredible cruelties that take place through ignorance," says the Humane Society's Karl Nordling. "Some pounds in smaller communities are pretty atrocious."
RELATED CONTENT
Where do all these unwanted animals come from? Contrary to popular belief, it's not mostly strays that are in shelters ... but abandoned pets and recent litters. In today's throwaway society, pets have become just another disposable item.
People unthinkingly purchase the animals as Christmas, Easter or birthday gifts for their children ... then give them up when they realize a responsibility is involved. Many animals are turned in to pounds complete with registration papers, shots, collars, leashes, toys, beds or houses, and food supplies. Within a few days, however—penned up in close quarters with numerous other animals—a well-fed, tamed cat or dog will go insane.
Other pets are turned loose in rural areas where their owners hope the animals will learn "to take care of themselves". This amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. Seldom do tamed animals survive alone in the wilds either as scavengers or predators. Those that do—especially dogs—often form feral packs which have become a growing menace to, wildlife and livestock in many rural communities ... threatening children and bringing down deer, cattle, sheep and poultry.
What can be done about the pet population boom? Here are the latest medical and legal developments:
Surgical sterilization—spaying females and neutering males—is the only effective pet contraceptive method now available. But sterilization is expensive ... between $15.00 and $75.00 depending on sex, size and species. Tax-supported public pet clinics could perform the operations at lower costs, but veterinarians so far have succeeded in opposing the clinics.
One possible alternative to expensive surgery is the "pet pill" contraceptive, which researchers say is still five years away. Syntex—the Palo Alto, California pharmaceutical firm which pioneered the birth control pill for humans—has developed a hormonal pellet for implantation under an animal's skin to prevent both heat and conception, but it must go through a lengthy federal approval process.
