Dear Future President,

Every year, about 2.6 million pets in animal shelters are euthanized. Many of the animals are happy and healthy but are killed because there is not enough room for other animals. Pet overpopulation is an important issue that is causing animals to be killed. Because of pet overpopulation, shelters are not able to take care of the millions of homeless animals. People need to learn about how important it is to spay and neuter, adopt, and thoroughly think through what it will take to have a pet.

Pet overpopulation is caused by three main reasons. First, owners do not spay or neuter their animals, so if their pets become strays, the animals can reproduce which cause more stray pets. Also, if owners purposely breed their animal, they may not be able to find homes for all the babies. Second, if people want a pet, many will purchase their pet from a breeder instead of rescuing an animal from a shelter. ASPCA pet statistics stated that only 29% of cats and dogs in the United States are rescued from shelters. And third, people do not always think through what it takes to have a pet. If people’s lifestyles do not work around the pet, they will give up the animal. Some people do not have enough time or room for their pet, so they will relinquish it. We need to solve the problem of too many pets in shelters.

In order to help decrease the number of pets in animal shelters, we can help with spaying and neutering. According to ASPCA, only 10% of the animals in shelters have been spayed or neutered, while 83% of pet dogs and 91% of pet cats are spayed or neutered. We can help shelters by providing money that can pay for mobile vets who can spay or neuter shelter animals. This will help by making sure pets don't reproduce accidentally, helping to control the number of strays and animals in shelters. By spaying or neutering shelter animals, possible owners may be more inclined to adopt pets because they won’t need to pay for the surgery.

Pet overpopulation is a serious problem that is causing millions of healthy animals to be killed. People need to learn about how important it is to spay or neuter, adopt, and thoroughly think through what it will take to have a pet. If more people do this, innocent animals will be saved from being euthanized or being a stray. By reducing the number of stray pets, we can help keep animals healthy and protect wildlife. In order to help stray pets, start to provide money for animal shelters and other rescue organizations. If shelters have money, they can provide veterinary attention for animals and help them get adopted. Pet overpopulation is a serious problem, and we can help fix it simply by starting to spay or neuter all pets. If we start by helping animals in shelters, we can help all the ones in the streets. 

 Sincerely,                                                                                                                                                                   Allie F.