Pet Overpopulation
Chloé Abellard ♥ April 3, 2018 Period 4 & 5
Table of Contents Chapter 1: Teen Activism Page 2 Chapter 2: The Problem Page 6 Chapter 3: Solutions and What You Can Do To Help Page 10 Chapter 4: Statistics Page 14 Chapter 5: Shelters and People That Make A difference Page 17 Chloe Abellard ♥ 1
Chapter 1: Teen Activism
Teen activism is the action of using a campaign to bring about political or social change by a teen or young adult. Many teen activists all believe in fighting for different causes in different ways such as Malala, Alex Lin, and Emily-Anne. Malala believes that all children should be educated and her main focus is on girls. Alex Lin believes that all unneeded or broken electronics should be recycled and/or refurbished. Emily-Anne believes in stopping all forms of bullying including cyberbullying. Malala is one of many teen activists around the world. Malala is currently 20 years old but was 15 years old when she
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started. When Malala was 12 years old, her all-girls school was shut down. The shut down of her school realized that 32 million girls around the world are not educated or in school. Her actions in fighting for girls to be educated made her a target for a terrorist group called the Taliban. In 2012, Malala states “I was not afraid when I was told that the Taliban had made me a target.” This made her an inspiration all throughout Pakistan. On October 9, 2012, Malala was shot in the head by two gunmen. After this tragic event, she went through five hours of surgery. After recovering, Malala started a nonprofit foundation called The Malala Fund, which helps raise money for girls all over the world to go to school and have an education. Alex Lin was nine years old when he became a teen activist in 2002. When Alex came across an article in a newspaper about e-waste, he
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found out that there was three million tons of e-waste every year in the United States alone, which makes up 70% of toxic waste. Only 13.6% of it is recycled or refurbished. This made Alex want to do something about the toxic e-waste. To help stop e-waste, Alex got help from his community service group, the Westerly Innovations Network (WIN). WIN spread the message about e-waste and gave people a chance to recycle and refurbish e-waste instead. Before long, Alex and WIN were saving thousands of pounds of e-waste from being thrown away. This team became Rhode Island's first e-waste team. During Alex’s first year of creating the team/foundation, he recycled 20 thousand pounds of e-waste. One more teen activist is Emily-Anne who started at 19 years old. She helps people cope with an obstacle in life called bullying. In 2010, Emily-Anne became the founder and director of a nonprofit
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organization to help raise the self-esteem of teens called WeStopHate. Along with her foundation and speaking out against bullying, she created a “Bully Button” on Facebook. On a phone interview in 2013, she stated, “In elementary, I was bullied so bad that I switched to a new school cause of it. It was damaging to my self-worth.” Emily-Anne helps teens manage with bullying and cyberbullying as well. In conclusion, many teen activists believe in fighting for different causes and in different ways such as Malala, Alex Lin, and Emily-Anne. They use nonprofit foundations and organizations and speak out about what they believe in.
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Chapter 2: The Problem and Background information Pet overpopulation is a major problem not just in the US, but all over the world. Every year in the U.S., more than six million lost, abandoned, or unwanted dogs and cats enter animal shelters. Some of these dogs and cats are lucky enough to be adopted into loving, responsible, and permanent homes; but there are far more animals in need for a caring family then there are kind people willing to give them an acceptable forever home. Approximately two to three million cats and dogs, many of them healthy, young and adoptable, must be put to death in shelters every year. No one wants to kill these innocent animals, but the
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alternative of putting them in no-kill shelters that keep animals in cages for weeks, months or years leaves the animals to suffer a far worse fate. The fact that the animals are under these conditions for so long makes many animals go insane from loneliness and constraints. Many more unwanted animals are simply abandoned to suffer and die on the streets, or live alone in backyards without company, exercise or in many cases, basic necessities such as food, water, shelter or veterinary care.
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Why are there so many unwanted cats and dogs? There are three main reasons: First, many people fail to spay or neuter their cats and dogs, who then reproduce, creating enormous numbers of kittens and puppies. Allowing pets to reproduce is a big problem saying that only 1 in 10 dogs born find a forever home. DOG REPRODUCTION CHART Secondly, people still buy animals from breeders and/or pet stores instead of adopting homeless animals. People buying pets from breeders and/or pet stores is another problem because that
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means there are still animals in shelters that need to be adopted but are going to be put to death instead because there is not enough room in the shelter. Lastly, people buy or adopt animals without realizing the lifetime responsibility that caring for them requires. Eventually, people turn their backs on their animal when they become “inconvenient” or “too much work.” In conclusion, these three reasons cause 6.5 million cats and dogs enter animal shelter annually, and in the US alone, there are 150,000 animals put in animal shelters weekly.
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Chapter 3: Solutions and What You Can Do To Help There are many solutions to assist the problem of pet overpopulation. Each year, many people, organizations and charities try to help the pet overpopulation problem. Some solutions include, not intentionally breeding dog and cats, spaying and neutering them and being a responsible owner. One solution is to not intentionally breeding your pets. There are enough animals that need homes without adding more. Shelters are overcrowded and too many animals that enter shelters are put to death due to lack of homes. If your pet has puppies or kittens, they could end up in a shelter. In addition, every puppy or kitten sold
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or given away by an owner that breeds their pet means there is one more shelter animal that will not find a home. A second solution is spaying and neutering pets. Spaying and neutering will reduce the number of animals that enter local shelters. This procedure can also be a plus to your pets as it prevents undesirable behavior and health risks which can shorten the life of your pet. Spaying and neutering can also reduce the amount of money one spends on their pet. Caring for a pet with a reproductive system cancer can cost thousands of dollars which is five to ten times as much as a spay surgery. Another solution is being one a responsible pet owner. There are several steps in making a responsible pet owner. Some steps include:
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● Commit ○ Avoid unconsidered, hasty decisions when selecting a pet; ○ Select a pet that is suited to your home and lifestyle; ○ Keep only the type and number of pets for which you can provide the right amount of food, water, shelter, health-care and companionship; ○ Commit to the relationship for the life of your pet(s); and ○ Properly socialize and train your pet. ● Invest ○ Realize that pet ownership requires a lot of time and money; and ○ Make sure your pet receives preventive health-care ● Obey ○ Clean up after your pet;
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○ Obey all local rules, including licensing, leash requirements and noise control; and ○ Do not let your pet become a stray. ● Identify ○ Make sure your pet is properly identified ■ Tags; ■ Collars; or ■ Microchips. ● Limit ○ Don’t let your pet contribute to pet overpopulation ■ Limit your pet’s reproduction through spaying and neutering. ● Prepare ○ Prepare for an emergency or disaster;
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○ Make backup plans in case you can no longer provide care for your pet; and ○ Notice any worsening in your pet’s quality of life and make timely decisions in meeting a veterinarian.
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Chapter 4: StatisTics ● Approximately 6.5 million animals enter US animal shelters nationwide every year; ○ 3.3 million are dogs ○ 3.2 million are cats ○ The number of cats and dogs entering animal shelters annually declined from 7.2 million is 2011. ● Annually, 1.5 million shelter animals are killed due to lack of space ○ 670 thousand are dogs ○ 860 thousand are cats ○ The number of animals being killed decreased from 2.6 million in 2011.
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● The decline is partially due to the increasing percentage of animals adopted and in the number of stray animals successfully returned to their owners. ● About 3.2 million shelter animals are adopted each year ○ 1.6 million dogs ○ 1.6 million cats ● 710 thousand animals that enter shelters as strays are returned to their owners ○ 620 thousand are dogs ○ 90 thousand are cats ● 163.8 million dogs and cats are owned in the US ○ 78 million are dogs ○ 85.8 million are cats ○ 44% of all US households have a dog ○ 35% of all US households have a cat
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● One dog and her offspring could produce 67 thousand puppies in 6 years. ● One cat and her offspring could produce 370 thousand kittens in 7 years. ● More than $50 billion is spent annually by the 62% of households that own at least one pet in order to care for them.
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Chapter 5: Shelters and People That Are making A Difference
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Dumb Friends League ASPCA PETA American Humane Society Bianca V. Ayna Oklahoma Alliance for Animals PetSmart PAWS Georgia SPCA One Green Planet Texas Alliance for Homeless Pets
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