Crackdown on Owners of Unsterilized Pets Weighed

Moving to slow the proliferation of stray animals, the Los Angeles Animal Regulation Commission is considering a controversial crackdown on pet owners who fail to sterilize their dogs and cats.

During a heated meeting at City Hall on Monday, the commission heard a proposal to make it illegal to own a dog or cat that has not been sterilized, unless the owner buys permits costing hundreds of dollars.

The proposal by the Department of Animal Services calls for dog and cat owners to spay or neuter the animals before they are 5 months old. Owners of unsterilized pets would then pay a $100 annual fee for an “unaltered animal permit.”

Owners would then be forced to pay an additional $200 yearly fee for a breeding permit, which would apply to all “unaltered” animals, even those kept indoors as well as pets not allowed to breed by their owners.

“A number of cities around the country have successfully implemented similar ordinances and have seen significant drops in shelter populations,” said Dan Knapp, general manager of the Department of Animal Services, citing tough spay and neuter policies in San Mateo and Santa Cruz.

Knapp said Los Angeles is experiencing a pet overpopulation crisis. The Department of Animal Regulations estimated about 45,000 stray dogs and 60,000 feral cats roam the streets of Los Angeles, creating public health and safety risks throughout the city.

Knapp’s proposal--created in response to a request from the City Council to study ways to limit the stray population--deeply polarized the crowd of about 60 who attended the meeting.

A contingent made up primarily of animal-rights activists, shelter workers and animal rescuers heartily endorsed the proposal.

“I support this because our No. 1 problem in this city is there are just too many animals on the streets,” said Wendy Aragon, who operates Pet Assistance, a network of animal rescuers that find homes for stray pets. “Without legislation, we are doomed to bailing out the ocean with a thimble.”

Aragon said the legislation was meant primarily to target “backyard breeders,” people who breed animals--usually dogs--with little know-how, often raising them to be extra aggressive.

Bill Dyer, an animal rescuer, spoke to the commission while armed with posters showing pictures of unwanted, abused dogs and cats and hundreds of want ads from local breeders. He said one of the biggest contributors to the stray problem was the large number of people breeding animals with no oversight.

“Today in Los Angeles, breeding equals killing, it’s a national disgrace,” he said, adding animals bred for sale are often abandoned or mistreated by the people who sell and buy them. “We are sick to death of death.”

But enthusiasts of purebred pets voiced great displeasure, contending they already regulate the breeding of their animals. Few purebreds end up in shelters, breeders said.

Others expressed concern the fees would have a disastrous effect on animal overpopulation by discouraging the low-income owners who would have trouble paying the $300 fee each year from registering their animals.

“This is going to create an economic hierarchy,” said Brenda Nyx of the Burbank Kennel Club, contending only wealthy dog owners would be able to easily ante-up the money.

One woman displayed a statistical breakdown of stray dog populations. It showed most of the feral animals coming from low-income areas. She said the ordinance was essentially a “punitive tax” on wealthy dog owners who don’t contribute to the overpopulation problem, and called the proposed legislation “animal welfare.”

“This is unfairly targeting responsible breeders and it won’t solve the problem of overpopulation,” said Ted Powers of the Kennel Club of Beverly Hills.

In a one-year period ending in 1998, the city’s six animal shelters euthanized 59,663 animals, Knapp said.