Have you ever found a small abandoned kitten that was on the brink of death from long and slow starvation? Have you ever had a dog that gave birth to many puppies that you had to find homes for? Have you ever seen a young, innocent animal have to be euthanized because it could not find a home? These are all common cases that could be avoided if pet neutering laws were passed.

Pets should be required to be neutered to prevent unwanted reproduction of domesticated animals. Domesticated pets that escape from home could mate with a stray, if not neutered, and it is quite a struggle when you must find a new home for a new litter of unwanted puppies or kittens. Sure, they are cute, but you probably won’t be happy when you have to take money from YOUR wallet to house and feed a surplus amount of animals that you never wanted. You must take care of them until they find a new home, or you can dump them off at the pound, which leads to another matter.

Pets that are at the pound eventually must be euthanized to make more room, if they don’t find a home first. Studies by the American Humane Association show that 56% of dogs and 71% of cats that enter animal shelters are euthanization victims, no matter what age. There is a near constant flow of homeless or lost pets that enter pounds, and only about half find homes. The rest that are not picked up by their owners will die. If you do not neuter your pet, it may cause suffering for both unwanted baby domesticated animals, and yourself.

However, one issue with pet neutering is cost. Many people can not afford for their pets to be neutered, which is why the cost should be lowered. Besides, it costs much more for you or the pound to take care of a litter of puppies or kittens until they find homes than it does to merely neuter the parents before they have a chance to mate.

Another issue is size. If a law were passed, it would have to only apply to a specific size or species. Obviously, you wouldn’t spend a whole bunch of money to neuter a lizard or a fish, so the law should only apply to dogs, cats, etc.

Neutering is also probably uncomfortable for pets, but it is much more uncomfortable to have many of their young taken away to relocate them to new homes. Some people ask “Why not just keep all the puppies or kittens if my pet gives birth to them?” Most people cannot afford to raise a full litter of baby animals, considering that the average litter size for dogs is around 6 puppies, and the average litter size for cats is around 2-4 kittens. Plus, as the baby animals grow, the will require more food, care, and space. So naturally, the simple answer is to neuter your pets.

But then, the big question pops up. “If all pets are neutered, then how are we supposed to get new pets?”

Well, the answer is quite simple. Professional Breeders. They are good at their jobs, and generally produce healthy animals. Pet stores would just have to buy some animals from a breeder, and then sell them to customers, or customers could just go directly to the breeders.

Pet neutering laws should be passed to help avoid the needless suffering of animals and ourselves. Neuter you pets to prevent having to spend money on a large amount of young animals. So get your pet neutered if you can, and save some money and some lives.