Open an accessible high-volume SPAY NEUTER DURHAM Clinic

Aperçu:

**THE TIME FOR ACTION IS NOW** Sterilization is the most humane solution to the pet overpopulation issue. With adequate funding, this program and clinic can have an immediate, positive effect on the Durham Region and help resolve an issue that threatens the health of the community, and most importantly, help the pets that inhabit it. **HOW WILL IT WORK?** Our objective is to establish a high-volume spay/neuter clinic in and for the Durham Region that will encourage and support responsible pet ownership through sterilization. An affordable spay/neuter clinic will result in significant savings for groups working to re-home pets and reduce the burgeoning pet population. Indeed, by redirecting funds currently used for euthanasia by the municipal animal control agencies, tax dollars can be put to better use addressing the needs of homeless pets, and other community needs. The clinic, once established will engage in ongoing fundraising efforts to support its continued work. Local veterinarians and animal care workers will provide the clinic’s required services. This model has proven effective in the neighbouring communities of Newmarket and Barrie, Ontario. **WHAT’S AT STAKE?** Between 2009 and 2010, over 5,000 cats and 2,000 dogs went through the Durham municipal animal control system. Of these, over 1,900 cats and 131 dogs were euthanized, some for health and behavioural reasons, but most due to overcrowding and inadequate funding. Complicating matters is the fact rescue groups are not legally bound to keep records, and thus it is impossible to determine the number of animals that were actually rescued and re-homed by these groups. Having said that, preliminary estimates suggest this figure could well be in the thousands in Durham Region alone. Unfortunately, these groups are only able to provide minimal assistance as they are funded solely through public donations and serviced by a dedicated, but limited number of volunteers. Regrettably, many stray and unwanted cats and dogs die of starvation or become food for the Region’s ever-growing coyote population. **A POSSITIVE EFFECT** Durham Region pet owners and local rescue associations, including municipal animal services, urgently need reliable and stable access to low-cost spay/neuter services as provided by this proposed clinic. The clinic would be conveniently located and financially affordable for local residents and rescue groups. It would assist seniors, the mentally and physically challenged and socially-reclusive individuals that rely on their pets for companionship and therapy. The positive impact this proposed clinic would have on the local community would affect pet and non-pet owners alike and establish a model for other such clinics in regions around the province. **BEYOND THE ENVIRONMENT** Domesticated animals, for no fault of their own, are forced to live as wildlife, often becoming drifters. They are companion pets that may have strayed due to territorial or mating seasons, or, as is the case with feral cats, reproduce at an alarming rate. These animals can become a menace to communities in in many ways; foraging in neighbourhood garbage for food, using public playgrounds and areas like sandboxes or gardens to relieve themselves, spreading disease, exhibiting aggressive behaviour towards humans and/or other pets and threatening wildlife habitats such as the killing of songbirds.