WA SB 5151—Companion Animal Spay/Neuter Assistance Bill
Sponsor: Senator Maralyn Chase
ASPCA Position: Support
Action Needed: None at this time.
Update—February 27, 2012: In a recent interview, bill sponsor Senator Chase confirmed that unfortunately, SB 5151 is not going to move during the current session. Thank you for taking action, Washington Advocates—we will try again next year!
Animal homelessness is a serious problem in Washington State, and the problem is getting worse as pet-surrender and abandonment rise due to personal financial hardship. Every year, tens of thousands of adoptable animals are being killed in Washington’s shelters simply because there are not enough homes for them. This is occurring despite the best efforts of our animal welfare community.
We have an opportunity for an important spay/neuter assistance program to be put into the state budget by the Senate Ways and Means Committee. Washington Senate Bill 5151 will provide funding to 1) assist low-income owners of cats and dogs in obtaining affordable spay/neuter surgeries, and 2) perform spay/neuter surgeries on feral and free-roaming cats.
The legislation does not make spay/neuter surgery mandatory. SB 5151 would raise about $10 million per year exclusively for assistance with dog and cat spay/neuter surgery. The cost savings resulting from this bill are expected to far exceed expenditures, with savings in the range of $17-18 million per year or more.
Unfortunately, there is sentiment among certain senators that this bill should not be supported because they believe it has a “fee.” In fact, implementation would be funded by a miniscule surcharge on pet food distributed in Washington State. The cost impact on the retail consumer would be less than $0.03 per pound of pet food—small change considering how much it costs to house and eventually euthanize thousands of unwanted pets in the state in an endless, futile cycle.
Instead of flushing our money down the drain and not solving Washington’s pet overpopulation problem, let’s direct it toward a program that will make a difference.
