Animal cruelty and neglect should definitely be prevented, and I support the steps taken in Albuquerque, however drastic. The new laws implemented will improve the conditions of animals in Alberquerque immensely and ensure that they are well taken care of.
Euthanization is cruel and strips the animals of their right to live, only used as the citizens are too irresponsible to clean up their own mess. The only reason there are stray dogs and cats in the streets and flats are because their original owners have neglected them and abandoned them to die in the city. The SPCA have recently reported that they had found 78 abandoned dogs in September, with pet owners giving up 107 dogs in the same month. This was an increase from the 54 abandoned dogs and the 65 being given up in the earlier month, only contributing further to the hundreds of stray animals already on the streets, waiting to be caught and slaughtered through euthanization, and proceating within their own kind to produce even more stray animals. With the laws and fees to ensure responsible pet owners in Albuquerque, along with the sterilization laws imposed on stray animals, this heavily reduces the number of stray animals and in so doing, the euthanization of them.
Other communities have taken laws against animals much too far, with their laws punishing responsible pet owners and risking the extinctions of some breeds. In Denver, pitbulls were outlawed completely just because of their ferocity, which is an inherent characteristic of their breed! This law seems to assume that animals can never be taught well to be obedient, and kills the time and effort the responsible owners of pitbulls spent with their dogs. Some owners have even opted to leave the city rather than lose their animal companions, or illegally hide their pets while only taking them out in the night, both unwanted and ridiculous results of this extreme law. In lieu of the outroar and protest against these laws, Denver relaxed the law to allow one pitbull per household, which was still frowned on by pet owners. Some HDB flats in Singapore also ban cats and dogs from being kept in the flat, which is ridiculous! The problem does not lie with the animals, nor does it lie with the responsible owners, but instead is due to the irresponsible owners who refuse to clean up their animal's litter and neglect them daily!
Animals have been treated cruelly and discriminated against for centuries, with neglect and abandonment leading to even more strays, and even formal laws being put up against these animals. I firmly believe that the practices undergone in Albuquerque are steps in the right direction in eradicating animal abuse.
bleeding till 6:07 PM