Pet Overpopulation/ Animal Abandonment Seven and six tenths of a million animals are abandoned every year. This number is so large because of two main reasons. Pet overpopulation is the fact that there are a growing number of pets and a smaller number of owners. Many experts went as far to say that “There are more pets than responsible owners.”. The cause of Pet overpopulation is animal abandonment. Animal abandonment is when the owner drops his pet out in the wild and leaves the animal with little to no chance of surviving. What Happens When Animals Reproduce On the Streets: Another terrible thing about pet overpopulation Is that it also happens when owners forsake their pets when it is about to reproduce so the young have little to no …show more content…
These pets are sent to shelters where they reproduce which results in more pets in the shelter. The shelter then has to euthanize the animals that are extra or they have to send these animals to a non-profit organization that will take care of them. American Humane Association also supports research to assess the causes for pet abandonment. Old research studies suggest that 7 to 20 percent of pets entering a home are no longer in that home six months after acquisition. These animals often end up at shelters, contributing to the pet “overpopulation” issue. Thus, American Humane Association has learned that individual, cultural and community issues that lead to animal abandonment and try to engineer practical and effective strategies to stop animal abandonment from happening. These solutions would lower the amount of animals in animal shelters and cure the pet overpopulation problem that is sweeping the world. Countries like India have huge pet overpopulation problems. According to a national survey conducted by PetSmart Charities, more than 1 in 3 recently acquired dog and cat owners have not spayed or neutered their pet. The biggest barriers to spay and neuter appears to be a lack of motivation, understanding of the importance and cost. Perhaps these national trends are reflected locally. In 2012, nearly 25 percent of cats and dogs that entered AWLA were from