Hi,
John Francis wrote:
Oddly enough, there are parts of the world that seem to manage to have an effective, efficient animal control system (rounding up strays, a shelter where abandoned animals may be turned in, etc.), enforcement of laws against animals defecating, all paid for by annual licensing a lot less than that, even for un-neutered animals.
I believe the going rate around here nowadays is about $200 to get a (chipped & neutered) animal from the pound, and maybe $20 or so a year thereafter. I don't know what the rate is for an un-neutered animal, except that it's much more than for a neutered one. - at least 3X.
Here, the cost would be that of a new pup. The old one would be left to rot in many cases. Except that there is not even an efficient (or, indeed, any) method of collecting strays in many parts of the UK. Although other parts of the world have reputations for poor treatment of animals, here it varies from the bizarrely sentimental (a dog was recently left someone's house in the person's will) to the sort of barbarism one would expect to see in the more xenophobic rags as an example of other cultures' lack of it. Deeply depressing - or maybe it's just because winter draws nigh.
mike
