New Poll Opposes Spay/Neuter Mandates

Second Major Poll Shows Overwhelming

Opposition To Mandatory Spay And Neuter

 

Elected Officials: Please Take Note Of These New Polls As

This Is What Your Constituents And Neighbors Really Think

 

by JOHN YATES

The American Sporting Dog Alliance

http://www.americansportingdogalliance.org

 

Mainstream Americans oppose laws and ordinances that mandate pet sterilization by an overwhelming margin, a pair of very recent polls by two of the nation’s largest publications show.

 

A March poll of the readers of Parade Magazine, America’s most widely read publication, shows that 91 percent of its readers oppose laws or ordinances that mandate spaying and neutering of pets.

 

A poll that began May 19 with a report by MSNBC, one of the nation’s largest news services, reiterates the Parade results. In three days of voting, 75 percent of the respondents to the MSNBC poll opposed laws that mandate pet sterilization.

 

Dallas and Chicago are considering these kinds of ordinances now, and statewide legislation is on the table in California and Arizona.

 

The American Sporting Dog Alliance asks elected officials to pay close attention to the results of these polls, which have great value because of the mainstream readership of Parade and MSNBC. The results show the opinions of ordinary people who are not part of any special interest group involved with this issue.

 

They are your friends, your neighbors and your family. They are the people who voted for you

 

Officials are being bombarded with political pressure from animal rights groups to pass mandatory sterilization ordinances and laws, as well as with reams of contradictory information. Mainstream polls help to cut to the heart of the issue, by informing public officials about the opinions of the electorate.

 

Parade is both the highest circulation magazine in America and also the most mainstream, having built an empire as a Sunday supplement to more than 400 newspapers and attracting a reported 71 million readers a week. If elected officials want to know what will “play in Peoria,” Parade is Peoria. It’s readers are ordinary people from all walks of life, and do not represent any special interest group. They are your neighbors and constituents.

 

The magazine published an article about mandatory spay and neuter laws in its March 16, 2008, issue, following enactment of an ordinance in Los Angeles. A poll accompanied the article with the following question: “Should owners be required to sterilize their pets?”

 

There were 50,577 responses to the Parade poll:

 
  • 91% voted no (45,824 votes)
 
  • 9% voted yes (4,753 votes)
 

MSNBC is the nation’s third largest media/news conglomerate, after CNN and Fox. It averages 300,000 viewers for each newscast, and has a very large online readership.

 

Thus far, 4,212 people have voted:

 
  • 23% voted in favor of mandatory pet sterilization
 
  • 75% voted against mandatory pet sterilization
 
  • 1.7% were undecided
 

The American Sporting Dog Alliance asks everyone who reads this report to send it to the elected officials who represent you in your city, town, township, county and state. It is urgent that we let them know what the vast majority of the voters think about this issue.

 

We also hope you will send this report to all of your friends, and cross-post it on message boards.

 

The American Sporting Dog Alliance works to protect the rights of dog owners and professionals who own or work with breeds that are used for hunting. Our grassroots movement is based on independent research, investigative reporting, getting the word out to hundreds of thousands of dog owners and elected officials, and giving people a way to take direct action as citizens. Please visit us on the web at http://www.americansportingdogalliance.org. We maintain strict independence and are supported solely by the donations of our members. Your participation and membership are vital to our mission.