Unraveling the Perils of Pet Overpopulation

How many of us have seen stray animals around? How many of us have been affected by stray animals in a negative fashion? To help get a good idea on what pet overpopulation is and how it's a problem, some ideas need to be explored. We need to know the major factors behind pet overpopulation and cause it to perpetuate. We need to know pet overpopulation's larger, over reaching effects and the scale of the problems pet overpopulation causes. Lastly, we need to know what has been done and what could be done to help stem the tide of the problem known as pet overpopulation. Just to show how big of a problem pet overpopulation is there is an estimated 70 million stray cats in America alone. ("Pet statistics") That should be a sobering number on how

serious this problem America faces is. To tackle this problem some research needed to be done and here are the findings.
First of all, to overcome a problem and find a solution to identify what that problem is and what are the causes that lead to that problem. Pet overpopulation is when more pets are being bred and are born then can be bought or held in shelters. Now this problem has its roots in various places and ideals held by society. First place to look for what caused the problem of pet overpopulation is where these dogs come from. A large part of the problem is due to out of country puppy mills who breed animals just for puppies to sell here in America. These puppies cause people to buy puppies rather than buying dogs already in shelters thus ensuring the shelters stay filled. ("Understanding pet overpopulation.") Another way puppy mills help perpetuate pet overpopulation by making shelters use resources on sick puppies.

When puppies come across the border and look sick they are sent to animals shelters here in America instead of sending them back to their country of origin. ("Understanding Pet overpopulation") This causes shelters to waste already dwindling resources on animals that may never find an owner and forcing them to put the puppies down. A large portion of pet overpopulation is due to stray animals uncontrollably reproducing causing an exponential growth in the pet population and amount of stray animals. ("Fixing pet overpopulation.") As seen in "Letters to the editor" a cat could reproduce and make 100 more kittens in its life and in seven years the cats and their babies can produce around 420,000 kittens. ("Letters to the editor")That can clearly be seen as to how pet overpopulation can cause a serious increase in stray animals on the streets. Owners carry some of the burden for their part in pet overpopulation. Sometimes people unfit for pets buy them then later bring them back or surrender them. They also could have just stopped caring for them because they are no longer a puppy. In which cases it causes more undue stress of overpopulation due to their negligence. ("Pet Statistics.") Also some owners forget or just don't have enough money or want to

get them tagged. This means if they become lost could join the pet overpopulation statistic. ("Pet Statistics.") If these animals were not spayed or neutered they could breed more with other animals to further increase the problem. According to the Christian Science Monitor newspaper “The number of animals euthanized each year has decreased dramatically over the past four decades, from some 20 million in 1970 to about 3 million in 2011. Meanwhile, the number of pets has more than doubled since the 1970s, to about 160 million dogs and cats, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.” (“Behind the Big Drop in Euthanasia for America's Dogs and Cats”). Lastly, shelters financial stability can cause change in pet overpopulation. For instance, more supplied and funded shelters can train and treat animals that were previously unadoptable. But lesser supplied shelters are forced to put more animals down or become heavily overpopulated. Either way animals will die. ("Understanding pet overpopulation.") From the research that has been done by many people, the causes of pet overpopulation are clear.
The effects of pet overpopulation not only pertain to the suffering and death of pets but also may cause death in humans as well. First off, as hinted to earlier, pet overpopulation can heavily burden shelters. This can be seen in the amount of animals shelters are forced to kill their animals due to severe pet overpopulation. They kill around 9,000 pets a day in America due to overpopulation. ("Brevard Vet Dreams of End to Pet Overpopulation.") Disease can also spread because of pet overpopulation. In India, Rabid dogs account for over 20,000 deaths every year and many of them are children. ( "Grave Risks from So Many Stray Dogs and Cats…." ) So this can be seen that disease can help spread through stray animals and that can affect human health as well. Stray animals also die is horrible ways due to not having proper shelter. Pets die due to starvation or disease all across America. ("We can Solve the Overpopulation of Abandoned Pets." ) Not to mention those who die due to hypothermia. But some studies show that around half of homeless kittens are killed due to other animals or killed by being run over by a car before they are 6 months of age. ("Grave Risks from So Many Stray Dogs and Cats…." ) These stray pets also cause damage to the environment and the wild animals in the area. ("Grave Risks from So Many Stray Dogs and Cats…." )The overpopulation problem causes shelters to become heavily overburdened and heavily understocked just to try to get pets to good owners and are desperately trying to find good solutions.
Over the years of work on the subject and countless studies done found a few ways that may help or even end the problem of pet overpopulation. According to Daylynn Kyles, education about the issue is vital to cutting down on the issue of pet overpopulation. He believes that people should get animals from pet shelters. Not from shops or other means. ("Don’t blame Humane Society, blame the animals’ owners.") Another way to help cut down on pet overpopulation is something called spaying or neutering. It's a way to prevent animals reproducing. Vets do this operation to animals to ensure these animals do not reproduce with stray animals and cause more pets then which can be maintained. ("Fixing Pet Overpopulation Problems." ) Some shelters also have been known to do catch and release programs where they catch stray animals and spay and neuter them. After this is done they are released back so at least they wont reproduce more and cause more of a problem. Other shelters offer reduced or even free spaying and neutering for families to "help give them a push." to, as said before, cut down on unwanted pet reproduction. ("Animal Benefit Society Formed to Help Combat Animal Overpopulation in County." ) Also owners should have there animals tagged so they are not lost for long and won't join the stray dog statistic. Another way is to make sure that people are getting the right kind of pets for them and if they can handle having a pet. This further lightens the load on shelters. Lastly Paws.org suggests that people should run donation drives to help shelters supply problems by donating money and resources. ("Pet Statistics.") Spaying and neutering also have other benefits such as cutting down the aggressiveness of animals and less sexual activity. Also studies have been shown that spaying or neutering your pet can reduce the likelihood of cancer by eighty-five percent if done within the first six weeks. ( "Fixing Pet Overpopulation Problems.") According to Mrs. Szczesny one interesting way to help cut down on pet overpopulation and shelter overpopulation is to have animal sanctuary for animals who are "unadoptable." and she plans to help raise money to fund such a plan. ("Animal Benefit Society Formed to Help Combat Animal Overpopulation in County." ) Some people advocate for shelters to have a tougher policy on spaying and neutering animals. Saying that laws about animal control could use some changes since it was last updated in 2005. ( "Advocates Demand Changes at Animal Services to Address Pet Overpopulation.") The website 600million.org is proposing an idea to help end the pet overpopulation problem striking America. That idea is to create a animal sterilization pill to make a fast, easy, and cheap way to reduce the amount of stray animals that can reproduce and make more animals. ("Animal Overpopulation: What's The Solution To 600 Million Stray Dogs?") These are what is being done so far to help end the epidemic of pet overpopulation. But the problem is still a big problem in America.
After looking over the evidence provided by the many sources the outcome is clear. There is a large problem with pet overpopulation. From the roots of uncontrolled pet breeding, puppy mills, overburdened shelters, peoples unwillingness to get shelter pets. Also peoples irresponsibly once they get the animals also contribute heavily to the problem of pet overpopulation. Pet overpopulation also affects the environment, pets and humans health, and the heavily burdening of shelters which only feeds back into the problem. But people have been looking for ways to solve it by stopping pets from uncontrollably breeding and keeping track of animals in well supplied shelters would in theory solve the problem. But as its stands it’s quite obvious that pet overpopulation is no myth despite what others may claim.
After all the research only one conclusion is apparent, that pet overpopulation is real and is a big problem. The causes are for the most part known and identified. The effects of them are far reaching and affect pets and humans alike. But there are some solutions but people need to do their part and help. We must help our furry friends so we all can live without suffering and pain