Limitations on Backyard Breeders

Economy
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The amount of animals are out of control to the point fosters and shelters barely have any room and ethunization is the only way.

I don’t know how but backyard breeders should have a special license, just like those wanting to own exotic/wild animals, in order to keep breeding to sell. And through this license, they have regulations and will be checked up on to ensure the animal is not abused or they aren’t running a puppy/kitten mill that has multiple pregnant animals or that the animal in question is not becoming pregnant multiple times a year. Limitations on how many kittens/pups you can sell in a year and or how often she can be pregnant or how many can be pregnant at the same time.

And just like shots have become normalized; so should spay and neuter. It should be offered more regularly and if anyone in the comments complains about money; Pets are a luxury, not a right, and pets cost money in general. Besides, they’re are programs offering for lower cost for the procedure because this influx of cats and dogs is out of control!

Most shelters Spay and Neuter Animals they get for this very reason. I do not think the ‘It’s my animal, It’s my right to breed and sell puppies/kittens if I want!’ should apply in todays society. We don’t allow someone to abuse their dog just because it’s their dog and their right and a dog should not be unfixed and bred multiple times to sell the pups just because it’s ‘their dog, their property and their right’. Same with cats or other animals.

I don’t think there’s anyway to force people to fix their pets or to report breeding in general because that’s too invasive. But if someone is selling pups or kittens; then they need to have proper license or be fined no different then if someone has exotic animals without a license (Just don’t be outrageous like in NY. RIP Fred and Peanut)

Not only will this limit the profit on animals but people that actually care will get the license and go by the limitations to ensure animals they sell are properly taken care of. And it will make people think twice about letting their animals go unfixed and breeding all over the neighborhood or at their own house if they can’t make a profit off of it and it becomes their responsibility to deal with a bunch of kittens and puppies they can’t sell without getting the license or being fined if they do sell them without that license.

What other suggestions do you all have?

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I agree we have a huge pet overpopulation problem. It seems reasonable that anyone who wants to breed his/her dog must be licensed (after he/she completes an educational process that includes learning about the extent of the current over-population problem.) And I agree that every pet must be spayed or neutered as a result of the current crisis AND risk being fined if the female pet becomes pregnant or if the male pet is not fixed before sexual maturity. Considering that people complain about the cost of neutering & spaying, which I completely understand, I would think there could easily be a process to “earn” credits for a free spay/neuter, paid for by the government, but earned by the pet owner by volunteering at the local pet shelter/animal control. I think the government paying for spay/neuter in lieu of an owner doing volunteer work is entirely reasonable because the process gives a first hand education to the pet owner of the realities of pet overpopulation. The whole process improves a community in that people are making community connections and people are learning. Those results are what make a good community. The money would come from a tax, of course, and this tax is similar to the taxes we pay for children to go to school–all children, regardless if we have children or not. (I’m open to feedback.)

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That is an excellent idea! A good way to build community and offer those that have limited funds to not only have the opportunity to make sure their pet lives a long healthy life free of overbreeding. But also a way to help out shelters and learn about the true impact of not spay/neutering a pet in an educated compassionate way.

It would be a huge eye opener. But also, if the Government helped pay for this, I feel a lot of people would be fine with their tax dollars going towards this. Less cats overpopulating areas, less dogs dropped off in places near peoples homes, shelters having less overcrowding and therefore less euthanization.

You brought up such good points and I am so glad you did! I never even thought of an ‘earned’ program but it really would be extremely beneficial to everyone involved. The only ones not happy would be backyard breeders but they need to be responsible and truly care for the animal; not just money.