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MadelineBoigner
ProfessorMalcolmCampbell
UWRT
11April2016
ItsRainingCatsandDogs:PetOverpopulationinAnimalShelters
Thelivesofanimalsareoftentakenforgranted.Manypeoplelovetheideaofhavingan
animal,butrealizeveryquicklythatitsnotallfunandgames.Animalstakeanimmenseamount
oftime,money,andcarethatpeoplearenotalwaysreadytotakeon.Animalshelterownerscan
relatetothisstatementgreatly.Sheltersconstantlyhaveanimalsbeingadoptedoutandbrought
backwithinweeksorevendaysbecauseoftherealizationthatitistoomuchworkandtime.
Animals,especiallyyoungpuppiesorkittens,arealmostlikeafulltimejob.Iftheyarentgiven
thepropercareandinstructionwhentheyreyoung,itcoulddetrimentallyaffecttheirbehavior
fortherestoftheirlives.Animalsheltersnotonlyhavetoworryabouttheaspectoftrainingthe
animals,butalsoabouttheupkeepoftheirfacility,healthandcareoftheanimals,costsand
financialexpenses,andmuchmore.Justhavingoneanimaltotakecareofistoomuchworkfor
mostpeople,sohavinghundredsofanimalsconstantlycominginandleavingtheshelterwould
beanunimaginableamountofwork.Thisiswhytherecannotbetoomanyanimalsbeing
housedbyashelteratonce.Ifthereareexcessiveamountsofanimalsbeinghoused,it
tremendouslydecreasestheattentiongiventoeachofthecrucialpartsoftheshelter,including
training,upkeep,healthandcare,etc.,andcouldevenresultinthedeathandharmofmanyof
theanimals.Excessiveamountsofanimalsinashelterseemslikeagreatthingsincethepurpose
ofashelteristohouseasmanyanimalsaspossible,butagreatdealofnegativethingscancome


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fromoverpopulationintheshelterthatmanypeopleontheoutsidedonotsee.Ipersonallyhave
suchapassionforthistopicbecausemyownpuppywasavictimtotheoverpopulationproblem
andalmostdiedbecauseofit.Wewereluckytohavebeenabletoadopthimwhenwedidand
gethimthepropermedicalcarefromavetbeforeitwastoolate,butformanyoftheother
animalsthere,itwasalreadytoolate.Themainpurposeofthispaperistoinformothersabout
thethingstheydontseefromtheoutsideoftheshelterandexplainhowdestructive
overpopulationreallyis.Certainmeasurescanbetakeninordertodecreasetheseverityofthe
issueofoverpopulationofanimals,butpeopleneedtobeinformedandwillingtomakethe
change.IhopeotherswillcareforthisissueasmuchasIdo,becausenoanimalshouldhaveto
sufferthroughthehorrideffectsofoverpopulationlikemypuppydid,aswellasmillionsof
otheranimalsdoeverysingleday.
7.6millionanimalsentershelterseachyear.(SheltersIntakeandSurrender)Thisnumber
shouldalreadyconvinceyouthatsomethingdefinitelyneedstochange.Thisisapreposterous
amountofanimalsbeingbornwithoutahome.Howareshelterssupposedtobeabletosupport
thismanyanimals?Theanswerissimple:theycant.Manyoftheseanimalsdontevenmakeit
toshelters,butdiefromalackoffoodandlivingontheirown.However,thereisaverysimple
fixtotheproblemofoverpopulationofanimalsintheworld:spayingandneutering.Anypet
organizationwebsitethatyouvisithasatleasttwoadsonthepagereadingsavethelivesof
millions:spay/neuteryouranimal!Orsavealifenow:pledgetoadoptyournextpet.(Why
YouShouldSpay/NeuterYourPet)Thisissuchasimplesolutiontothismonstrousissuethat
peopledonottakeseriouslyduetothelackofknowledgeofhoweasyitistochange.Many
complainofthecostwhentherearecountlessveterinarianclinicsthatofferreducedpriceoreven


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freeneuteringandspaying.Therearefourmainbeneficialreasonstoneuteryouranimals.It
reducesthenumberofhomelesspetskilled,improvesyourpetshealth,reducesunrulybehavior,
andintheendsavesonthecostofpetcare.(WhyYouShouldSpay/NeuterYourAnimal)Allof
thesereasonsshouldconvinceanyonethatneuteringandspayingyouranimalisthewaytogo.
Feweranimalsneedtoentertheworldsothatsomanyarenotleftwithoutahome,euthanized,
orharmed/killedfromlivingontheirown.
Manypeopledonotevenknowabouttheissueofoverpopulationanditseffectsdueto
thelackofsurveyingandinspectionofshelters.JohnWenstrup,amanwhoresearchesthestudy
ofhumananimalbond,includedthestatisticsfrom186surveyswithinhisJournalofApplied
AnimalWelfareScienceinordertoestablishabaselineofdata,policies,andviewpointsonthe
topic.Heconcludedthatinspectionsandsurveysofsheltersarefartoobriefanddonottakethe
timetothoroughlyexamineeveryaspectoftheshelter,allowingtheownerstothinkthereis
nothingwrongwithhowtheyarerunningtheirestablishment.Inspectionsregardinganimal
sheltersareessentialbecauseofthedatacollectedthroughtheprocess.Datacollectioniscrucial
toashelterbecauseitisawaytotrackinformationabouttheshelterandanimalsandevenspread
informationworldwide.Thedatacollectionofasheltershouldbethoroughbecauseitdoesnt
onlybenefitthatspecificshelter,butmanyothersareabletolearnfromthatsameinformation
andmakechangesthemselvesbasedonit.(Westrup)ManysheltersaroundtheUnitedStates
haveactuallybeenterminatedbecauseoftheoverpopulationandmistreatmentofanimals.
PETA.orgincludesanentirepageofsheltersthathavebeendocumentedbeingcloseddown.
Althoughsomesheltersaremonitoredandinspected,notallarerequiredtobe.Thereareabout
14,000sheltersaroundtheUSthatareindependentandnotmonitoredorinspectedbythe


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government.Sobasicallyanythingcouldbehappeningwithintheshelterwithoutanyone
knowing.Euthanizationismuchmoreprevalentinsheltersthatarenotmonitored,andeventhe
onesthataremonitoredareallowedtoeuthanizeuptotenpercentoftheiranimalsandstillbe
consideredanokillshelter.Sheltersthataremonitoredbythestatearegiven
AnimalWelfare
SectionInspectionreportsthatpeoplecanaccessonline.Thesearetheonlydocumentedand
inspectedsheltersandothershavenoinformationbeinggivenout.(
NoKill'LabelSlowly
KillingAnimals)
Overpopulationcancauseharminmanyways.Itisthesilentkillerwithinshelters,the
mainreasonbeingbecauseofsicknessanddisease.Whenyounganimalsenterashelter,their
immunesystemsareincrediblyweakwhichmakesthemevenmoresusceptibletoillnessthanthe
otherolderanimals.Diseaseandsicknessisalmostinevitableinashelterduetotheconstant
closecontactandinteractionbetweentheanimals.Soifananimalenterstheshelterwitha
deathlyillness,itcouldbespreadthroughouttheotherhundredsofanimalswithindays.Thisis
whyanimalsshouldbetestedbeforebeingabletointeractwiththeotheranimals.Healthtesting
isrequiredbysomeshelters,butmostdonotconductthetestsbecauseittakestimeandmoney.
Anyanimalcouldhaveasicknesswithitcompletelygoingunnoticed.Withexcessiveamounts
ofanimals,itshardtogiveeachonethepropercareandattentionitneedsinordertolive.
Becauseofoverpopulation,diseasesarespread,personalcareforeachanimalbecomes
impossible,andfundslackimmenselycausingmanyanimalstosuffer.TheCanadianFederation
ofHumaneSocietiesputtogetheracomparisonchartofadmitted,reclaimed,adopted,and
euthanizedanimalsenteringsheltersthroughouttheyears.Thechartconcludedthatthenumbers
ineachoneofthoseareashasdroppedtremendouslythroughouttheyearsbecauseofthe


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developmentofnewmedicines,technology,andevenmoresheltersbeingcreated.Although
thesenumbershavedropped,theyarestillmuchtoohighandcanbeloweredevenmorethrough
thehealthcareandtestingoftheseanimals.(CFHS)
Ifyouhaveananimal,youunderstandhowmuchtimeandcareareputintotheirlives
everyday.Mostanimalswhoentersheltersareyoungkittensandpuppies.Theseanimalsare
especiallytheoneswhoneedtheattentionandcarefromhumans.Oftentimestheyounganimals
arejustthrowninwitholderonesandareneglectedanddonotreceivethepropernutrientsand
foodneededtogrow.Thisisacrucialpartoftheirdevelopmentandshouldnotbeoverlooked.
Inall,thereareafewwaystostoptheoverpopulationissueinanimalshelters.According
totheOklahomaAnimalAlliance,therearespecificallyfivemainways.Donotintentionally
breedyourpet,
sheltersareovercrowdedandtoomanyanimalsthatentersheltersareputtosleep
duetolackofhomes.Adoptyournextpetfromanarearescueorshelter.Whenyouadoptapet
fromashelter,youareactuallysavingtwolivesbecauseyoumakespaceforanotherpettogeta
secondchance.Bearesponsiblepetownerbygivingyouranimalthepropercareneeded.The
finalandmostinfluentialwayisbyspayingandneutering.(
5ThingsYouCanDotoReducePet
OverpopulationOklahomaAnimalAlliance.)
LikeIsaidpreviously,thiscoulddecreasethe
amountofanimalskilledandharmedbecauseofoverpopulationandsoincrediblyimportant.I
urgeeveryonetotakeactionanddoeverythingpossibleinordertostopthisoverpopulationissue
inshelters.Somanylivesofanimalswillbesavedandmakeforamucheasier,happier,lifestyle
inshelters.


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WorksCited
"CFHS|AnimalShelterStatistics."
TheCanadianFederationofHumaneSocieties
.CFHS.
Web.11Apr.2016.
"'NoKill'LabelSlowlyKillingAnimals."
PETA
.PeoplefortheEthicalTreatmentofAnimals.
Web.11Apr.2016.
"5ThingsYouCanDotoReducePetOverpopulationOklahomaAnimalAlliance."
Oklahoma
AnimalAlliance
.OAA,2014.Web.11Apr.2016.
"PetStatistics."
ASPCA
.TheAmericanSocietyforthePreventionofCrueltytoAnimals.Web.
11Apr.2016.
Wenstrup,John,andAlexisDowidchuk."PetOverpopulation:DataandMeasurementIssuesin
Shelters."
JournalofAppliedAnimalWelfareScience
2.4(1999):30319.
ArticleFirst
.
Web.2Mar.2016.
WhyYouShouldSpay/NeuterYourAnimals."WhyYouShouldSpay/NeuterYourPet."
The
HumaneSocietyoftheUnitedStates
.TheHumaneSociety,24Aug.2014.Web.11
April.2016.