Pinpoint The Roots
By Kellie Heckman, FiXiT Foundation (guest blogger)
FiXiT is a nonprofit with the mission of ending companion animal overpopulation by convincing a population of pet owners that continues to breed unwanted dogs and cats to spay or neuter their animals. Our approach to this problem is to use a methodology that determines which influences will change the human behaviors that result in a situation where millions of animals are killed in U.S. shelters every year. We are currently conducting a case study of our marketing-based methodology to increase demand for spay and neuter in a controlled population on a Caribbean island: St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.
We chose St. Croix as our case study location for several reasons. First, it is an island, where animal immigration and emigration will be minimal, with a human population size small enough for us to begin to see a change in the animal population size as a result of our efforts. Second, the animal welfare community was already in favor of providing a low cost spay/neuter service to the community. Third, there was a sizeable overpopulation problem on the island.
Going into the study, we had a grasp of the symptoms of the island’s overpopulation problem. The rates of intake and euthanasia at the island’s only animal shelter were multiple times more than the averages found at U.S. shelters, despite two low cost spay/neuter programs available on the island. But to be able to develop potential solutions to target pet owners, we wanted to know what was at the root of the problem.
We set out to learn more about the behavior and perceptions of St. Croix’s dog and cat care-giving population using two primary tactics: a spay and neuter perception survey and a dog and cat census. The former would provide a baseline for 1) how common is pet ownership, 2) what proportion of dogs and cats are fixed, and 3) were there particular issues that prevent caregivers from participating in existing or hypothetical spay/neuter options, such as those without cost or with promotional incentives.
Our first task was to perform the perception survey. Over 6 weeks, we surveyed 1,189 people, over 2.4% of the island’s population. We hired local residents to conduct an 11-question, in-person verbal survey. We gathered information about the respondent’s age and sex, whether they owned or cared for an animal and what species, and whether the animals they cared for are fixed. If the animal(s) are not fixed, we then asked them a series of questions about why they had not fixed the animal and what could be offered to them to change that. If the animal(s) are fixed, we asked what had driven them to do so.
What we were confidently able to determine is that the overpopulation crisis that St. Croix faces is driven by an overall lack of interest in spay and neuter by the pet owning population, consisting of 35% of the island’s 19,500 households. Only 30% of dog owners and 46% of cat owners stated that their pet was fixed. This is extremely low compared to national pet statistics: 78% of dogs and 88% of cats are altered. The top reasons for not altering their animals were as follows: too expensive, haven’t bothered, and want to breed (Figure 1). The order of these three explanations was dependent on the survey taker’s age and sex and the species of animal. Woman were generally less motivated; men, especially young men, wanted to breed their dogs for profit.
The survey confirmed our suspicions that there was low demand for the available spay/neuter programs. However, when offered a hypothetical incentive or free service people changed their mind about whether or not they would consider getting their pet spayed or neutered. This was a major insight. There is not a significant cultural barrier preventing people from fixing their animals, as is seen in other communities or bolstered by cultural beliefs. Therefore, with the right marketing message and promotion, we were certain that we could bring spay/neuter to the community of St. Croix at large.
From our animal census, we sampled 5 randomly chosen areas and learned that many dogs and cats are allowed to roam free or are directly exposed to other free-roaming animals. Each area was surveyed at dusk and dawn for one day a week over four weeks. Sampling was performed in a slow moving vehicle with 1-2 people surveying the environment. Therefore, only animals outside and near roadways were included in our estimates. We noted species, age (young or adult), stray or owned, size of dog (more or less than 40 lbs.) and dog containment type (loose, chained, or confined). Only 52% of dogs were confined in a fenced yard, protected from other animals. Of the remaining dogs, 20% were chained, 17% ran loose, and 11% were counted as free-roaming strays.
With our preliminary surveying, we were able to pinpoint the roots of the overpopulation problem on St. Croix:
- Extremely low spay/neuter rate largely driven by lack of motivation and financial considerations
- Lack of animal confinement
While these two factors together create a perfect storm of unrestricted breeding, FiXiT is focusing our energies on the first issue: increase demand for spay/neuter. With this preliminary understanding of the St. Croix community, we have been able to create a testing environment to determine how pet owners respond to different marketing tactics. Our goal is to break down the motivational and economic barriers preventing pet owners on St. Croix from getting their animals fixed.
With these preliminary surveys, we were only scratching the surface of how to actually gain momentum for spay/neuter on the island. We methodically began testing the draw of different messages, advertising media, and costs/promotions. Plus, with our strategy, we are able determine the most economical manners generating change.
Every community of pet owners is unique. The root causes of an overpopulation problem will vary. The factors driving the human behavior will differ. Certainly the marketing strategies to generate a change in human behavior will need to be tailored to a local culture. What FiXiT is proving is that by evaluating the situation methodically, we can get to those hard to reach pet owners that are responsible for breeding more animals than there are homes for.