Other Topics... The
Overpopulation "Myth"
Depending on who you talk to, or "Google" on the Internet, it is
very likely you will find an exact number of animals being
euthanized (or killed as some animal activists insist we must
correctly label the process).
In doing research for this website, I struggled for days
attempting to locate exact figures and it is as elusive as
proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Figures
range from "3-4 million" to "9 million or more a year". I
quote a small section of a piece written by Cindy Cooke:
What is the truth about pet
overpopulation? How can we find it and, more importantly, how can
we use it to our advantage? Dr. Al Stinson, Legislative Director
of the Michigan Association for Purebred Dogs and the Michigan
Hunting Dog Federation, has come up with a solution that has
worked very well in his home state. More than ten years ago, he
lobbied successfully for a state law that required every animal
shelter to report to the state Department of Agriculture the
intake and disposition of unwanted pets. Two years ago, Dr.
Stinson hired a veterinarian to review the figures for a
three-year period. To our delight (and, I confess, our surprise),
the number of dogs euthanized had declined each of the three
years. While nearly half of the dogs entering shelters were
euthanized, that number (about 50,000 dogs) represents just over
two percent of the Michigan dog population. (source)
Initially, I'm saddened by the statement of "how can we use it to
our advantage?" Shouldn't kennel clubs, reputable
breeders and true animal advocates all be on the same page with the
same goals? Quality proliferation of the canine species with
the stoppage of accidental or intentional substandard breeding based
upon greed and profit?
Secondly, figures can be distorted by the manner in which they
are interpreted and upon the perspective or hidden agenda of the
person or organization presenting them. Tthe general public
can easily be swayed (and sometimes the wrong way) simply by the
'spin' upon which they are presented or elaborated upon.
"Just over two percent of the Michigan dog population" (or 50,000
dogs) were being euthanized by Michigan shelters --- Cooke
makes an excellent point. One of the biggest problems in this
killing epidemic is that there is not one qualitative or
quantitative system of reporting the euthanasia rates in this
country!
HOWEVER, 50,000 dogs in just one of our 50 states is 137 dogs per
day, 6 dogs per hour or 1 dog every 10 minutes is being
killed. If you are a humane-based individual, 1
dog every 10 minutes is an unacceptable level for the simple pursuit
of profit, even if it is "just 2%."
A 2% change in our air quality would be the difference between
good and unhealthy in the country according to the Air Quality
Index. Would you like to be in 2% of the IRS audits conducted
each year? I'm sure those 15,000+ individuals aren't happy
when the IRS comes calling on them!
The cost of living currently rises 2% per year, but think back a
few years ago to what a gallon of milk, a pound of hamburger or a
gallon of gas used to cost us, in comparison to what it does today.
And in the reverse case, would you be happy if only 98% of your
company's employees were paid accurately each week? What if
you happened to be one of those 2% that didn't get paid accurately?
People tend to use percentages in data to minimize the effect...
it is quite easy to say that less than 1% of our country's
population die each year from all causes (diseases, war, etc.) but
that is still at least 2,420,000 human lives according to the WHO.
To play the devil's advocate here on this topic, I would be
remiss if I did not mention that citing percentages can actually
motivate society, the general public and then in turn, the
government to move forward on critical elements.
In the 1970's through the 1980's, we were shocked to find out
that among U.S. children ages 6
months through 2 years, 84% of white children and more than 99% of
black children had BLLs >10 μg/dL of lead poisoning in their
systems. We had already begun to know the harmful effects of
lead poisoning and once we as a society moved forward on the
requirement of unleaded gasoline (along with our attack on lead in
paint), we greatly reduced the epidemic of harmful effects to our
children. By thirty years later in the period of 1999-2000,
the prevalence of BLLs >10 μg/dL among children 1 to 5 years of age
had fallen to 2.2% (NCEH 2003). We went from an overall
average of 91.5% to 2.2% of lead poisoning in our children... so it
can be done if we try hard enough --- and 2% of killing of dogs is
not acceptable, whether it is 3 million or 9 million respectively!
