The Volusia County Council passed the Mandatory Spay/Neuter Ordinance.
Thanks to all of you who worked so hard to get the information to our representatives on council so they could make an informed decision. We want to thank Councilman Carl Persis for his leadership and perseverance to help save the lives of countless animals. We want to thank Councilwoman Pat Northey for supporting the ordinance since its inception and always being there for the animals. We also want to thank Council Chair Frank Bruno, Councilman Andy Kelly and Councilman Art Giles for taking the time to research the issue and vote to support it once the moral and fiscal issues were clear. County Manager Jim Dinneen has taken the lead on the pet overpopulation issue and has brought forth plans to help unite the cities to help reduce the number of animals killed each year in our county. He has proposed purchasing another Pet/Vet Cruiser and offering it to the cities free for a one year period to help reduce not only the number of animals killed each year at our shelters but to reduce the financial burden that this has placed on both the cities and the county. He is willing to work with the cities to pass their own ordinance that will hopefully mirror the counties, so we can become united in our quest to make Volusia County a "No More Homeless Pets" community. He is also working on a fund that will help to support spaying and neutering throughout the county. County Attorney Mike Dyer and his associates did a great job in providing the council with legal opinions concerning the ordinance. We could not have asked for more from any of these fine individuals. They all were working together for the welfare of the animals and to reduce the annual 1.2 million dollar financial burden on the taxpayers.
We must not stop now. We must lobby our city leaders to follow the lead of the county. They too must adopt an ordinance that addresses the pet overpopulation and the financial burden it places on their residents. Once we have a united front we must then find ways to make sure that everyone who needs to have their pet spayed or neutered can afford it. We must join forces with the cities and the county to raise money to establish affordable, accessible spay and neuter programs. We need to establish TNR programs throughout Volusia County to reduce the number of stray and feral cats. We have all been working on reducing the overwhelming pet overpopulation for many years. Now we need to join forces to become one voice for those who cannot speak for themselves. We need everyone who is interested in animal welfare, from animal welfare organizations to legitimate breeders, to become one voice with one goal "Stop the Killing of 18,000 Animals Each Year in Volusia County". We can do this.
Success Stories
Spay/Neuter Programs Really Do Work!
In our own community, we have dramatic evidence of the impact that aggressive, affordable spay/neuter programs have on the pet overpopulation problem. Between 1999 & 2000, the Halifax Humane Society took in almost 2800 more cats & dogs than they had the preceding year. This increase was typical of the increases experienced historically. However, between 2000 & 2001, Halifax Humane Society took in only 33 more animals than it had the previous year. What caused this astounding decrease in the numbers of animals coming into our largest shelter? We identified three factors:
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The ARNI Foundation spayed/neutered over 5000 animals through its mobile spay/neuter clinic.
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The Volusia County Council increased its spay/neuter rebate from $25 to $42 & provided $60,000 to fund it.
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Halifax Humane Society ran a hard-hitting ad campaign urging pet owners to have their cats & dogs spayed & neutered.
Unfortunately, 2000/2001’s promising statistics did not carry over to the 2001/2002 year. The ARNI Foundation mobile clinic reduced its operation from four days per week to one day. The County’s very popular spay/neuter rebate program ran out of money less than half-way through the year. And, Halifax Humane Society’s ad campaign was not funded again. As a result, in 2002 the numbers of animals taken in increased by almost 1400, 1000 of which were killed. The trend is continuing to grow & we can expect record numbers of animals impounded in our shelters for the current year.
We can make a difference when we provide people with the opportunity to get their pets spayed & neutered easily & inexpensively & we can give them the information they need to make that responsible decision.
Please read about the successes of other concerned communities.
