Chicago Mandatory Spay & Neuter Proposed Ordinance - Page 1

Add Chicago to the list of big cities working towards mandatory spay and neuter laws:

http://cbs2chicago.com/local/spay.neuter.pets.2.711720.html

Again its the big cities,

I think its a large financial burden to handle the animal control of any city and this is the best answer they can come up with.

Its not all that suprising and I really dont see any great conspiracy against pet owners.  Only economics and polititions, the smartest segment of society of course.  

SSDD

If you read it, and they said it very clearly on the news last night, breeders can get a license from the city to keep their dogs intact. One of the main reasons for it is to crack down on dogs being bred for fighting, a very serious epidemic in Chicago. Shelters in the Chicagoland area are overflowing.

So whats the problem? Less people breeding fighting dogs, less "oops"es, less BYBs, it will force wanna be breeders to at least show a little responsibility and license themselves.  Sounds like a great idea to me, if you don't like it, move to the suburbs.

Maybe less large professional breeders and puppy mills too ya think?     I dont buy the dogfighting arguement but yes it goes on everywhere not just chicago and has been around for a very long time.   

The dog fighting issue is a load of crap. So if you pass the law saying that you have to spay/Neuter your dogs do you really think that the ones using the dogs for illegal uses are going to obey THAT law????????? Get real.

"When intact dogs are illegal, only outlaws will have intact dogs."

My thoughts; though this applies for all areas, not just Chicagoland,

The big problem I see with these things is: just making something prohibited doesn't really stop the problem. the irresponsible owner who doesn't care about an "oops" breeding will probably be the same person who doesn't bother with spaying/neutering their dog. People who don't care about legal issues certainly won't care about this.

Are the cities going to help needy owners with the financial cost of altering? Not all pet owners are financially secure, and thus consider spay/neutering an expense they can't afford.

And who is going to cover the extra man-power expense of examining dogs to ensure they're within compliance? Inspecting the dog, filing paperwork, and all the administrative work and time that comes along with that sort of stuff. Will they do follow-ups on non-compliant owners and dogs? Won't that take manpower away from more serious issues such as fight-rings, abuse, and neglect cases?

Let's be realistic, not everyone with an intact dog wants to be a breeder. Some are against altering for macho, health, even religious views. To assume that this will make BYBs more respectable is a nice idea; but like the American Prohibition period, it didn't solve the problems caused by alcohol. It won't fix these problems, it'll just make what they do illegal. And I really can't imagine dog-fighters caring about such legislation because they are already generally involved in other illegal activites of varying severity.

Just more political ideals formed by some ivory tower admin without any real grasp of the street-reality of the situations.

The difference is, if a concerned neighbor who thinks the guy down the street is fighting dogs sees a dog strutting around the yard on a chain with his balls intact, they can contact a proper authority and bust them. Yes, people will flaunt the law. But people also steal, drive drunk, etc. Should we do away with those laws also because the criminals won't follow them? Yes, I know, I'm being extreme, but you see my point.

I am curious as to what qualifications the breeders license entails, and the specifics of *when*, at what age specifically the city would ask pets be fixed. I'll look into it tommorrow (its my day off) and get back to you guys on it. I may contact the alderman's office.

jc- there are actually a number of spay/neuter programs available to Chicagoans in financial need, it can be done for free or at very little cost.

I just think that some would-be "one time BYBs" would just say forget it and spay their dog if they had to go to the trouble of getting a license, and that's a very positive thing, I think.