January 18, 2010
Sterilizing pets not a priority for new owners
By Sharon L. Peters
SPECIAL FOR USA TODAY
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20100118/FEATURES01/1180311/1076/NLETTER01?source=nletter-news
Despite campaigns encouraging sterilization to reduce pet overpopulation, and despite expanding options for low-cost spay/neuter surgeries, nearly half of people who have acquired unsterilized pets in the last year haven't fixed them.
Southerners and the under-35 set are the least likely to sterilize their pets.
Those are among findings from a national survey of 3,000 adults.
PetSmart Charities commissioned the survey by Ipsos Marketing, in an effort to understand factors contributing to continued pet overpopulation, which results in an estimated 4 million to 6 million euthanizations each year. Among findings:
?€? Of the unsterilized dogs and cats acquired in the past year, 48 percent still haven't been sterilized.
?€? 38 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds haven't sterilized their pets, vs. 24 percent of 55-plus owners.
?€? 13 percent of dog owners and 19 percent of cat owners have wound up with litters.
Misconceptions.
The survey is the first large-scale effort to quantify the actions and perceptions of pet owners and non-owners relating to spaying, pet overpopulation and adoption of pets from shelters. Supplied with this date, imal welfare industry "will be able to be more effective" in accomplishing goals, says Susana Della Maddalena, executive director of PetSmart Charities. Many pet owners are unaware of the scope of overpopulation: 62 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds and 47 percent of those 55-plus estimated shelters euthanize fewer than 1 million animals annually; 28 percent put that number at 100,000 or less.
And there's confusion relating to the age at which pets should be sterilized, owing partly, experts say, to lack of agreement among veterinarians. Since pets can carry litters when they're just 6 months old, many vets recommend 4 or 5 months as the proper age. But a growing number, motivated by animal welfare advocates who want puppies and kittens sterilized before they go into adopters' homes, believe 2 months is safe.
Among survey respondents who had recently acquired a pet, 17 percent said they have no idea of the proper age to spay; 42 percent said 6 months; 14 percent said at least 9 months.
People earning $55,000 or more are more likely to adopt from shelters and rescue groups than those earning less; 42 percent of people who recently got a pet did no prior research, formal or informal.
