Spay-neuter proposal draws lively comments
Daily Breeze reporter Nick Green reports today that the city of Torrance will consider a spay-neuter ordinance for cats and dogs at the next City Council meeting on May 7.
The decision came after Debra Corwin, founder of the Torrance-based rescue group Purrfect Partners, appeared before the city's environmental Quality Commission to lobby for the proposal. Earlier this month, she even showed up with three tiny kittens, their eyes still unopened, that she said were rescued from a city facility on Madrona Avenue.
"I said, 'I know this is inappropriate, but look at these," she recalled. "What I emphasized was I was the 10th (rescue) group they had called -- no one could take them in. I shouldn't even be taking them in."
Homeless animals, she said, were "an epidemic beofre the economy changed." And now? "It's worse."
Our story online so far is drawing some lively comments from readers (you can find them -- and add your own -- at the bottom of the story on the link provided above):
NAB wrote: "If the problem is stray animals (feral cats) reproducing, how will a mandatory spay and neuter law solve this problem? Animals can't read and so they will not know that they need to be fixed in order to be compliant with the law. The vast majority of owned animals are already spayed and netuered."
Torrance Mom wrote: "Since feral cats are the main problem, why not set up low-cost or free programs for rescue groups and others to trap these cats and have them fixed and released? Solves the over-population of cats, keeps the rodent population under control of the cats, and everybody's happy. (Well, except the cat-haters.)"
Anthony had this to say: "Deborah means well, but all you have to do to see that mandatory
spay and neuter does not work is look to Los angeles, where intakes and euthanasia have skyrocketed since the law was passed ... By the way, the clinic on PCH is no longer low-cost, and the clinic at the San Pedro shelter is not open."
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About the Bloggers
Daily Breeze reporter Donna Littlejohn has shared her homes with a succession of wonderful, funny, and occasionally difficult canines -- Muffin, Fritz, Ellie, Mercy, Pilgrim and now Cowboy, an Australian shepherd-border collie, and Tess, a border collie. From strong-willed terriers to weirdly obsessed Australian shepherds, they've invaded her world with boundless energy, wet noses, muddy paws and soggy tennis balls. But they've really brought so much more than that -- like laughter and joy, some unexpected life lessons, and more than a few tears along the way.
E-mail Donna at donna.littlejohn@dailybreeze.com.
Josh Grossberg grew up with the usual array of animals: goldfish, dogs, hamsters, parakeets and turtles. He now owns the loudest dog in the South Bay(Video: Rocket the Dog) and is the least popular person on his block. He spends his free time in dog parks, pet shops and always has an extra plastic bag in his pocket just in case. He also has a cat.
E-mail Josh at josh.grossberg@dailybreeze.com.
Why does Debra Corwin or any Animal Rights activist think mandating Pet Owners to spay and neuter their dogs or cats would have any impact on reducing the FERAL CAT population?
Especially when it is proven that the TNR, Trap Neuter and Release program is the most effective in reducing the FERAL CAT problem. The problem is unowned feline!
The MSN program does not work and has been a complete failure causing more problems than solutions.
If Debra is truly interested in helping the Feral Cat population she will be well advised to investigate the TNR or the success of the Calgary program http://btoellner.typepad.com/kcdogblog/2007/09/canine-legisl-2.html
I've been trying hard for the past 6 years to stablize the feral population on my block. Most of the neighbors are appreciative that there haven't been litters and litters of kittens running around for the past few years. Hopefully Dave and his boxtrap will stay away from my neighborhood.
Gee Dave,
I'm surprised that you didn't throw in that when driving down the road you intentionally swerve to hit cats crossing the road whenever the opportunity presents itself.
My Torrance neighbor is a rescuer and a daily feeder of stray colonies and she had 3 strays plus her own outdoor cat that she fed on her driveway and they pooped in my front yard, back yard, behind the garage, etc. I asked her to stop attracting the strays to our neighborhood, but she refused. I asked her to take them into her home, but she couldn't because she already had a house full of cats. I went to Animal Services and they knew about my neighbor. They said I can rent or buy ($100) a trap and take the uncollard cats to the shelter. Eventually, this left her with only her 1 outdoor cat which is manageable with regards to poop. In the meantime, I now own a boxtrap that continues to serve the community by trapping strays. I'm probably taking in some owned uncollard cats to the shelter, but without the collar, there isn't a way to differentiate an owned cat from a stray cat. There is a LA County ordinance that all outdoor owned cats need to have a collar or chip to identify them. Instead of the MSN, the solution is for owners to put a collar on their outdoor spayed/neutered cat and to offer a free or discounted boxtrap to Torrance residents to trap the stray uncollared cats and get them off the street. I realize some cats taken to the shelter are euthanized if they are deemed feral and not adoptable. In order to fix this overpopulation problem of feral cats breeding in the wild, we are going to have to accept the consequences.