Lobbying Speech

Hello ladies and gentlemen, thank you for taking the time to see me I know that your time is precious. My name is Astor Keel and I am the president and senior editor of Paw Print Magazine Inc, of the greater Cape Fear region. I would like to take some time to tell you what Paw Prints Magazine is all about and why we, as an organization, would like to make an ordinance where all pets have to be spayed or neutered in the Wilmington area.

Paw Prints Magazine started out as a very small publication. We had just a few employees and contacts. That was only a few years ago but we have clawed our way to top and we are now one of the foremost adoption magazines in the Cape Fear Region. We have tons of staff and departments dedicated to the adoption of animals. We have technicians that work side by side with the adoption agencies. They put pictures and descriptions in the magazine so that people can choose what pet they want and what agency they would like to adopt from. So far we have adopted thousands of animals to loving and caring homes. We aren’t like most magazines. We make it a point to check on the animals once they get settled in their new surroundings. We have someone go out and check on the animal and take pictures. We then put those pictures in the magazine for all to see. The people of the Cape Fear region rely on us to provide honest and reliable information on where they can adopt their animals.

The overpopulation of cats and dogs has become sort of an epidemic in recent years. The adoptions kennels are stuffed to capacity and lack the resources to care for so many strays. Because of the over capacity many animals are adopted, not through our magazine, to homes

that are unfit and not compatible for some types of animals. The shelters try to get rid of as many animals as possible to cut down on the expenses, because they simply can’t care for all of them. Clinics are overrun with sick animals found on the side of the road. Many unsterilized animals, with families, are left outside and become pregnant. The owner not having the resources or the time to care for a litter simply cast them out to become another person’s responsibility. This is not the way. It has come to our attention that there is a solution. Having every animals become spayed or neutered is a solution. Now, in the law books, there is no law that says a pet has to be spayed or neutered. Adoption agencies will sterilize their animals before adoption but they don’t have to and many smaller shelters will not. Veterinarians will push the procedure but many families are unwilling to go through with it. Either they fear harm to their animal or they do not want to pay for the procedure. So then the animal is at risk for pregnancy and neglect. We at Paw Prints think that it is imperative that this procedure become a law.

We have outlined a protocol that could prove effective in doing this. Every animal bought /sold or brought into the vet must be sterilized. There will be a database where every animal will be logged and its sterilization status recorded. The owner must willingly sterilize their pet or surrender the animal. There will also be a fine placed on any person not willing to comply. To the person’s with no money to pay for the procedure, a discounted or free service will be provided. We have set up many fundraisers to raise money to be able to provide the service for free to struggling families. We will also offer counseling services to the unwilling owners to explain the benefits of sterilization. This takes care of the animals bought and sold but what about the others. What about the strays that are picked up and never brought to the vet? We have many volunteers that will volunteer their services free of charge to the Wilmington animal control. They will go to houses and inspect any animals to make sure that they are sterilized. People will also be urged to call if they think they know of pet sterilized and volunteers will be called out to investigate. We don’t want to be bad guys, we love our community. We want our friends to not have to deal with the unplanned expense of a pet pregnancy. We want to provide financial support to help them pay for the procedure and counseling.

I would like to go over the benefits of the sterilization process and why many people would favor the procedure. First, female pets live an average of 5 years longer after doing a hysterectomy. When they don’t get sterilized, and don’t get pregnant continually, there uterus gets infected and often they die from the infection. Also there will be less reliance of government funds. With the amount of animals being brought into adoption agencies decreased, there will be a decreased reliance on government funds. With fewer animals to care for there will be more money to go around, since government funds often have to be shared throughout the state. Over all the benefits are staggering and the impact would be great.

Thank you so much for your time. I hope that you will consider our plan and the idea of making this a reality. I think that we could really work together and make provisions that would benefit each other. With greater information sharing with the public, I think the public would really welcome the idea. We look forward to brainstorming and welcome any concepts that you think would improve the program. I hope that you seriously consider this presentation. Thank you.