Rescue groups and humane societies with a no-kill policy operate at full capacity and are not able to take in the animals needing homes. Municipal animal shelters are also full and to make room for more animals they are forced to euthanize more than 115,000 companion animals in Tennessee each year, according to the Tennessee Department of Agriculture. That is more than 315 animals killed per day!
315 animals per day... and for what reason? Simply because people don't realize how many unwanted animals come from just one litter. Even if the dog's owner finds homes for every puppy in the litter, what happens after that? One litter can produce approximately 8 animals, if each of those 8 has a litter of 8... and so on... and so on...
If the female has two litters of 8 in the first year, the math will look like this:
1 year: 16
2 years: 512
3 years: 2,048
4 years: 12,288
5 years: 67,000
In addition to the consequences to the animals, there are consequences to our children and society. We are learning that killing innocent companion animals is not the solution to the problem. We cannot continue to devalue life. Our children are learning from us. They are taking that lesson and applying it to their own lives everyday. Do we really want to continue to teach our children and future
generations that killing the animals who love us unconditionally is how we fix a problem that stems from our irresponsibility in the first place? Or do we stop the problem before it begins?
Spaying and neutering is a better solution than euthanizing healthy homeless pets. Communities will spend less money controlling homeless animals. An altered pet is calmer, has less aggression, less urge to fight, and less desire to roam. It helps make our communities safer by reducing the number of dog bites and attacks. That is why it is so important that everyone support spaying or neutering of the companion animals.
The West Tennessee Animal Coalition wants to end the unnecessary killing of healthy homeless pets by helping owners who would not otherwise be able to spay or neuter their animals.
Contact Us for information on Spay & Neuter Assistance in your West Tennessee area!
