City looks to mandatory spay and neuter. But is it effective?

The city of Las Cruces will consider revising its animal control laws requiring residents to spay and neuter companion animals or be charged with a crime. 

City officials and animal advocates discussed the proposal during a work session on Nov. 12, and the council seemed split by some of the punitive measures proposed. 

The changes involve restricting tethering or trolleys for companion animals and implementing a mandatory spay and neuter program, with some exemptions.

Those who violate this could be found guilty of a petty misdemeanor. That’s the stick. 

The package's carrot includes creating a source of funding to help fund spay and neuter efforts around the city and messaging the community about the importance of spaying and neutering. 

According to City Attorney Brad Douglas, some less controversial changes would clarify language in the law and add more comprehensive prohibitions on abuse, neglect and abandonment. 

Additionally, devocalization would be banned, declawing would be much more limited, and residents found guilty of violating these laws twice would be prohibited from pet ownership.  

Despite the breadth of changes, most of the council’s discussions centered around the proposed mandatory spay and neuter.

The situation is bleak for stray animals in Las Cruces and Doña Ana County. 

Animals living on the streets deal with other animals on a daily basis, harsh weather conditions and deadly roadways. According to shelter statistics, those deposited into the Animal Services Center of the Mesilla Valley either by animal control officers or their owners have a 25- to 35-percent chance of being put down. 

Part of this proposal seeks to address that situation, Douglas said. 

But the shelter’s director, Clint Thacker, questioned how the city could enforce compliance in a town with a shortage of veterinarian services. 

“How are people going to be compliant when we ourselves, ASCMV –- we are backlogged ourselves,” Thacker said, pointing out that some of the proposed changes would require ASCMV to enforce despite having no power to enforce laws. 

Still, on the whole, Thacker said he supported mandatory spaying and neutering. 

Councilor Johana Bencomo said she could support much of the proposal, but the punitive enforcement of mandatory spay and neuter was a problem. 

For one, she said the city could perform the messaging component without the punitive component. Bencomo also pointed out that nearly all national animal rights and shelter advocate groups have opposed mandatory spay and neutering. 

“The ASPCA does not support laws that mandate spay/neuter of owned animals that come to shelters as strays as a prerequisite of returning them to their owners. However, provisions that incentivize spay/ neuter in these situations can be an effective strategy that does not create unintended negative consequences, such as preventing low-income owners from reclaiming pets due to inability to pay applicable fees,” the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals website states, pointing to research that questions the effectiveness of the idea. 

Other groups, including the American Veterinary Medical Association, the National Animal Interest Alliance and Paws4Change, take similar positions.

“The data consistently shows mandatory (spay and neuter) policies do not work and have disproportionate impacts on poor people,” Bencomo said.