* Santa Cruz County, California passed mandatory spay/neuter in 1995 and is often held up as a model of how that "works." So, let's take a look at how it actually works and compare Santa Cruz with other Counties that don't have mandatory spay/neuter.
* Santa Cruz County’s euthanasia rates are higher than those in nearby counties such as Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa, and Marin — none of which have mandatory spay/neuter laws.
* Santa Cruz County’s euthanasia rates are 44% higher than San Diego County’s, which does not have mandatory spay/neuter.
* Santa Cruz County’s euthanasia rates are more than 4 times higher than Nevada County’s, which does not have mandatory spay/neuter.
* Santa Cruz County’s euthanasia rates are 16 times higher than Calgary’s, the best animal control program in North America, where they also do not have mandatory spay/neuter.
In addition to soaring euthanasia rates, costs for animal control in Santa Clara have also soared. Costs for Santa Cruz County as a whole have doubled - from approximately $650,000 a year to over $1,300,000. For example, the city of Watson's contribution to the Santa Cruz County Animal Services Authority has spiked $100,000 to more than $490,000.
In Capitola, the decision to drop out of the agency June 30, the end of the fiscal year, was based on the bottom line, said City Manager Richard Hill. That city has seen its costs triple in recent years. Capitola was expected to pay in excess of $70,000 in the coming year. Since the agency serves little more than 100 animals from Capitola each year, the price tag was too high, he said.
Even this data does not seem to have proved to Californians and others that mandatory spay/neuter laws do not work. For example, California's SB250 threatens to take this law statewide. Can California afford the increased costs?
Increased costs are not the only impact the passage of SB250 will have on California. Decreased revenue is another. Each year over 1100 AKC events are held in that state with each bringing $300,000 to $1,000,000 into the local economy coffers. How many of these events will be eliminated once SB250 passes? Can Californians afford to lose this revenue?
