Pet Sterilization Is Now The L.A. Law

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 27, 2008
(AP) It's now the law, pet owners who live in Los Angeles must have their dogs and cats sterilized by the time the animals are 4 months old.

The ordinance, signed Tuesday by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, takes effect Oct. 1 and is aimed at reducing and eventually eliminating the thousands of animals that are euthanized in the city's animal shelters every year.

"We will, sooner rather than later, become a no-kill city and this is the greatest step in that direction," Councilman Tony Cardenas, who co-authored the bill, said as he held a kitten at a City Hall news conference.

Another of the ordinance's co-authors, Councilman Richard Alarcon, brought his two pet Chihuahuas to the event to be neutered in a van operated by the city.

The ordinance brings the nation's second-largest city into line with about a dozen of its neighbors that have similar laws.

It does exempt some animals, including those that have competed in shows or sporting competitions, guide dogs, animals used by police agencies and those belonging to professional breeders.

The average pet owner, however, must have their dog or cat spayed or neutered by the time it reaches 4 months of age (as late as 6 months with a letter from a veterinarian).

Fast Fact
Los Angeles animal shelters euthanized approximately 15,000 cats and dogs last year.
First time offenders will receive information on subsidized sterilization services and be given an additional 60 days. If they still fail to comply they could be fined $100 and ordered to serve eight hours of community service. A subsequent offense could result in a $500 fine or 40 hours of community service.

People with older unneutered pets and newcomers to the city with animals also have to obey the law.

Los Angeles animal shelters took in 50,000 cats and dogs last year and euthanized approximately 15,000 at a cost of $2 million, according to city officials.

Longtime animal-sterilization advocate Bob Barker of "Price is Right" fame pushed for the law's adoption and was among those at Tuesday's news conference.

"The next time that you hear me say, 'Help control the pet population, have your pet spayed or neutered,' I can add, 'It's the law in Los Angeles,"' a jubilant Barker said.


© MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

UK Surveillance Laws Raise Privacy Concerns

Morning Edition, April 21, 2008 · Local councils in Britain are using covert surveillance legislation designed to combat terrorism to investigate such petty offenses as under-age smoking and breaches of zoning regulations. One couple has gone public after learning that they were tailed for two weeks to verify that they actually lived within the boundaries of the school their 3-year-old attends.


Related NPR Stories
Aug. 16, 2007
Surveillance Lawsuits Tricky to ProsecuteAug. 6, 2007
Bush's Broadly Permissive Surveillance Law

Calif. Lawmaker Seeks Law to Ban Lapdogs in Cars

by Karen Grigsby Bates
All Things Considered, April 24, 2008 · Britney Spears and Paris Hilton have done it, and so have many lesser-known Californians: They've tooled around town with pets on their laps.

Now, a California lawmaker is looking to get Fido out of the driver's seat.

State Assemblyman Bill Maze (R-Visalia) wants to ban pet owners from driving with animals on their laps. Last week, a bill that would do just that passed the state's Assembly Committee on Transportation. The state Assembly may take up the measure, which Maze wrote, next week.

Maze says pets are a distraction that could put motorists at risk, much like talking on a cell phone. In July, it will be illegal for the more than 30 million drivers in California to talk on a cell phone without a hands-free device.

If his bill passes, drivers who are caught with their Chihuahuas or calicos unrestrained will have pay a penalty. The bill does not specify how drivers should keep their pets in place.

"If you've got a live animal, which you're not able to control, and that thing gets between you and the steering wheel or underneath your brake pedal, you've got a problem," Maze says.

Not everyone is thrilled at the prospect of legislation, including Johnnie Bonds, who hangs out at a hilltop dog park in Culver City with his Chihuahua mix Shorty. He says he doesn't even like being told he has to wear a seatbelt, let alone his dog.

"The government should get out of my business, you know what I mean?" Bonds says. "Let me live my life my way, with what little freedom we have left."

Patrick Guilfoyle, who owns Double Dog Dare Ya, an upscale boarding facility in Burbank, says people don't realize how dangerous it can be to leave their pets unbuckled.

But at the same time, he understands how hard it can be to resist a freedom-loving pet's pleading eyes.

"They don't understand that dogs are at risk just the way a child would be at risk if they were unrestrained in a car," Guilfoyle says. "I am truly as guilty as the rest of them. I insist that they stay in the back seat, but that's as far as I've gotten."

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Los Angeles has been lobbying for years to get the state Legislature to pass measures along the lines of Maze's bill.

"They can become projectile missiles during a short stop," says Madeleine Bernstein, president of the SPCA branch. "They can cause an accident. They can impair your ability to react to an accident. They can distract you. And they can get hurt."

If the legislation becomes law, Bernstein says, tails might droop a bit at being confined, but pet parents will have to draw on their inner strength.

"If you love your pet enough to take them with you, then love them just a little bit more," she says. "And restrain them when you take them with you in the car."