Pet tax

I was just listening to a piece on the radio about the overpopulation of dogs, leading to a lot of otherwise unnecessary euthanization. The problem usually is a result of personal pets having puppies, rather than an over production from professional breeders.

I would like to propose a pet tax. Each veterinarian should be required to examine animals to determine whether they have been spayed/neutered. If the animal has not been altered, then the owner should have to pay a tax in excess of the cost of a spaying/neutering operation that would be put into the budget of the local humane society. This would help the dogs that are already in circulation and prevent other puppies from being born, but not loved.

Hopefully, this would encourage pet owners to spay/neuter their pets and prevent unwanted puppies. That way, humane society workers wouldn't be forced to euthanize otherwise healthy, sociable animals.

Of course, those who can't afford to spay/neuter probably wouldn't be taking the dog into the vet anyway. However, if dogs were required to have a tag on their collar registering their spay/neuter status (tax paid or altered), then police and humane society workers would be able to pick these animals up off the street and spay/neuter them if they didn't carry a tag.

It would also be advisable to provide free/low-cost spaying/neutering for those who couldn't otherwise afford it.