Subsidized Spay/Neuter Clinic Impact On Euthanasia
This case study tracks animal sheltering data before and after the opening of a subsidized spay/neuter clinic in rural North Carolina, with mixed results. Prior to the clinic opening, dog intake and euthanasia were already declining; the opening had no perceptible impact on dog intake and the decline in dog euthanasia leveled off. For cats, both intake and euthanasia declined after the clinic opened, but euthanization as a proportion of intake did not change significantly. The study also showed a decrease (or leveling off) of service calls and complaints after the clinic opened.
[Abstract excerpted from original article]
“Reducing the number of homeless, nonhuman animals entering and being euthanatized in community shelters is the principal motivation for most spay/neuter (S/N) programs in the United States. This study evaluated the impact of a subsidized S/N clinic opened in 2005 in Transylvania County, North Carolina, on the numbers of impoundments (and euthanasia) of dogs and cats and on the number of animal-related service and complaint calls at the community’s only animal shelter.
Before opening the local S/N clinic, a significant linear decline in the shelter’s dog-intake rate per 1,000 human population was evident. This decline did not accelerate after the S/N clinic opened in 2005. The rate of decline in euthanasia did level off after the clinic opened, but the proportion of impounded dogs euthanatized did not change significantly. The median number of cats impounded and euthanatized yearly in the Transylvania County Animal Services shelter decreased significantly after the S/N clinic opened; the proportion of cats euthanatized did not change. The median annual number of service calls and complaints decreased or leveled off. Unfortunately, data regarding many factors essential for conclusively interpreting these results were not available.”