SAN ANTONIO -- It’s an issue that stirs strong emotions. What is the best way to control San Antonio’s large stray animal population without killing too many unwanted dogs and cats?
One animal advocacy group took to the steps of City Hall on Tuesday to call for action.
The Hailey Foundation, an animal advocacy group, is calling for a law requiring dog owners to spay or neuter their outside pets. But Animal Care Services says that’s probably not the answer.
Two-legged animals advocates and their four-legged friends took to city hall to call for action by the City Council. These pet lovers believe mandatory spay-neutering for outside dogs would get to the root of the Alamo City’s lingering stray problem.
“They need to make it a general rule,” said Joel Hailey, of the Hailey Foundation. “It would be easier to enforce. If that’s the law, then people would be educated on the need for spay-neuter.”
At ACS, director Gary Hendel said people tend to ignore such laws. He added that it hasn’t worked well in other cities.
“What we’re trying to do in San Antonio is combine careful enforcement with incentives as opposed to mandatory spay-neuter where you want to hit somebody over the head,” Hendel stated.
Hailey contended that “anybody who can afford to have a dog, to pay the hundreds of dollars per year to feed the dog, plus veterinary costs, can certainly afford low cost spay-neuter. We have free spay-neuter clinics in the city all the time.”
The number of animals euthanized at ACS crept up last year. The shelter said that’s because it brought in 8,000 more animals.’
While it won’t be a “no-kill” shelter by 2012, ACS is still moving in that direction.
“Our goal is to be no-kill of all healthy, treatable animals,” Hendel said.
Four years ago, less than 10 percent of those strays were being saved. Now, 50 percet are saved.
ACS said many of its campaigns to convince people to rescue animals are working. Last month, ACS adopted out a record 450 dogs and cats.
