UPDATE 6/6: Assembly Passes AB1634; bill to move on to California Senate and possibly the governor

UPDATE 5/16: Assembly committee votes in favor of moving bill to full assembly

5/11: Every year, over 800,000 pets end up in shelters in California. Taxpayers spend $250 million to house these abandoned cats and dogs and then euthanize the majority of them. Proponents of the Healthy Pets Act, a mandatory spay/neuter law, point to the wide availability of free and low-cost spay/neuter services and say it is a common sense solution to the problem of pet overpopulation. There is vociferous opposition to the bill from breeders and other groups despite the clear exemptions in the law for breeders and work animals. Advocates of the bill plan to mass in Sacramento in support of the proposed law when it is debated in a state appropriations hearing and to counter the expected congregation of opponents to the bill. The Santa Cruz SPCA, for instance, is providing free transportation to Sacramento for the hearing on Wednesday, May 16.

The California Healthy Pets Act would require the spaying and neutering of most cats and dogs by the time the pet is four months old. Pet owners who have not spayed or neutered their pet would be cited and given time to spay or neuter their pets before a fine would be assessed. The California Healthy Pets Act has exemptions for purebred dogs and cats whose owners obtain a permit, dogs who work as guide dogs, service dogs, or signal dogs, as well as those used by law enforcement or for rescue activities, and for the health of the animal.

Read More | California Healthy Pets Act support site | Santa Cruz SPCA