[crazywiggy]

I agree with some others that not having money for neutering is not an excuse. Before getting any pet people should do their research and work out what the basic costs are going to be - not just paying for the animal istself but all the equipment that it will need, neutering, vaccinations etc. Once they are sure they can afford everything on that list, then they should consider whether or not they would be able to find money in an emergency - if they can't, no pet.

I'm not sure about the idea of compulsory neutering, except for dogs and cats. With most small pets neutering is often just an unnecessary risk. It isn't exactly rocket science to decide to only keep same sex animals....

Personally, I would like breeders to be licenced the way that drivers are. Provide them with the means to learn about responsible breeding, then insist on them passing a theory test. For small animals I would also like to see a practical test for sexing animals of various ages. Only if the wannabe breeder passes the tests, and a home check to ensure they have suitable facilities, should they be granted a breeders licence.

I would also like the animals themselves to be licenced - certainly with things like cats and dogs. I think all should be microchipped and licenced anyway for tracability. Then, I would make it illegal to breed any dog or cat under the age of 2. Bring in a "breeding animal" test. The animal should be vet checked, undergo all the relevent health tests (eg hip scoring etc). I would also like to see some evidence of good temperament in dogs, eg temperament testing or the KC canine good citizen scheme. Only dogs and cats that pass all the health and behaviour tests should be certified as suitable for breeding and the rest should be required to be neutered. That way, in theory, only knowledgable breeders would be able to breed from healthy, nice natured animals.

Something else I would like to see is a limit on the quantity of animals that may be bred. The various authorities have at least estimated figures on how many animals are bred, as well as how many are destroyed and in rescues / shelters. All they need to do is look at these figures and calculate how many animals can be bred every year without causing overpopulation - then divide this between the licenced breeders and give them a maximum limit.

On top of this I would ban the sale of any live animals in pet stores or through any other third party, or online, so people have no choice but to find a breeder or rescue. Just making people have to research and do some legwork would cut out a lot of impulse buys (especially of the so-called "childrens pets") and would make life very difficult for BYBs and mills to sell animals.

Something else I have said before - and am still campaigning for - is better laws for minimum standards of care for pets. In labs and farms animals are at least given minimum cage sizes etc. but in the UK about half of the indoor rabbit cages on the market would be illegal to use in a laboratory! Even lab recommendations are better than those for pets in the UK - eg the code of practice states that social species should be housed socially unless there is a good veterinary or scientific reason not to, and grid floors should be avoided etc. Yet anyone can go into a pet store, buy a tiny cage with a grid floor, and keep one lonely animal in it without breaking the law. If pets were actually given decent standards of care by law, people would realise they needed more space and money than they might have thought - again, helping to reduce irresponsible ownership.

Oh well, keep on dreaming I guess.....