I must comment on Cyndi Caglayan's rebuttal to Joann Bessler's letter regarding over-population of animals and the SPCA's response to the problem.

Most of us involved on the front lines of animal welfare realize that spaying and neutering is the main way to reduce the unnecessary deaths and suffering caused by over-population. Finding homes and transferring all the dogs you can will not even start to make a difference.

Perhaps if people like Ms. Caglayan could witness a round up and shoot to kill in northern B.C. she would understand.

Perhaps if people who feel it is not necessary to instigate breeding regulations and to regulate how animals are bred and sold were to witness the pain and suffering of dogs in puppymills they would understand. However, backyard breeders are also an unneccessary evil that needs to be regulated. People who haphazardly breed and sell dogs through the newspaper for monetary gain cause tremendous suffering as they are not held responsible for the health and genetic breeding of the dogs they sell.

Persons who are intending to breed their purebreds for monetary gain and do not provide adequate care and supervision are also part of the problem as they are then responsible for more puppies which are not purebred and as likely as not to end up at an SPCA in the future.
Please don't tell me that all these dogs get loving homes for the rest of their lives as the SPCA is full of these dogs. Some SPCAs in B.C. ensure they are part of the solution by ensuring the dogs they adopt out are spayed and neutered and others are still in the dark ages and do not. These SPCAs need the support and financial help of the BC SPCA Head Office to provide adequate funding to make them a part of the solution.

In conclusion, breeding regulations are not only needed, they are way overdue.

Carol Sonnex,
Victoria