As Spay/Neuter Co-ordinator of a Society in Victoria I answer the phone and chat with people daily who want to spay/neuter their pets but cannot afford it. The majority seeking assistance are single people, single moms with young children, or seniors. We also get a lot of requests to help with stray and feral cats. On average over 1000 pets per year are spayed/neutered by our small Society alone. We spend $50 to $60 thousand dollars a year. This has been going on for years and in Victoria there are other groups as well working towards solving the over-population problem.

I have been answering the phone line for quite a few years and the demand is as great as ever. The number of animals dying due to being unable to be rehomed has lessened though.

Today I checked the Prince George SPCA website http://www.spca.bc.ca/northcariboo/clinic.asp and must question much of what I have read. In Victoria the veterinarians we work with give us reduced prices very similar to the ones being charged by the Prince George Spay/Neuter Clinic :

Spay / Neuter
Please note that there will be an extra cost involved if the animal to be spayed/neutered is found to be in heat, pregnant, or cryptorchid:

Cat Spay: $85

Cat Neuter: $55

Dog Spay: $100-$130

Dog Neuter: $90-$110

Vaccinations
Please note that these are just approximate costs depending on what is needed:
Cats: $26 or $31
Dogs: $31 or $43

The Society I am involved with also contributes to each spay/neuter so as to make the surgeries affordable.
The donation the Society I am with varies from $30 towards a cat neuter to paying the full cost of a dog spay so as to ensure the procedure happens.

How many low-income single moms can afford a $43 vaccine and a $130 dog spay? None of the one's I speak with. How many seniors on Canada Pension can afford a cat spay and vaccine for a total of $116?
Maybe I am missing something but what is "low cost" in the above? Someone making $8/hr has no hope of saving this kind of money and many low income earners love animals and own animals. Perhaps there are subsidies not mentioned on the Prince George SPCA website? I certainly hope so....

The other question I had was with the statistics on the website
From http://www.spca.bc.ca/pgclinic/
Help us spay and neuter 4,000 homeless animals in Prince George each year, so the community can reach zero euthanasia of adoptable animals by 2010.

From: http://www.spca.bc.ca/PGclinic/DonorWall.asp

Help us spay and neuter 2,000 homeless animals in Prince George each year, so the community can reach zero euthanasia of adoptable animals by 2010.

Which is it?

These prices help middle-income pet owners by giving those who can afford to sterilize their pets a break on the price. These people can also afford to make donations in the future. But the prices are of little help to low-income pet owners and those are largely the people whose pets are repopulating SPCAs.

In conclusion the Spay/Neuter Clinic in Prince George is a positive step BUT the animals need it to be truly low-cost and affordable if it is going to truly help stop the unnecessary killing of adoptable animals.