They always look like they think they are going for a walk happy... Until they get to "The Room"

MUMBAI - US actress Pamela Anderson has appealed to the authorities in India's financial capital Mumbai not to put down nuisance stray dogs, instead calling for them to be sterilized.

"It is well established that killing stray dogs is not a permanent solution to controlling their populations," the former "Baywatch" star said in a letter to the municipal commission of Greater Mumbai.

"Dogs cannot use condoms, but with the municipality's help, they can be 'fixed' -- painlessly, quickly and permanently," she added in the letter made public by activist group the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

There are thought to be some 70,000 stray dogs in India's financial and entertainment capital and there are widespread concerns about their role in spreading disease, including deadly rabies.

Anderson's letter, which cited World Health Organization and Animal Health Board of India support for mass sterilization, comes after a legal ruling here to destroy nuisance dogs.

Expressing her concern at the court decision, the 41-year-old star called instead for civic authorities to promote a sterilisation program for stray dogs as well as those adopted and bought from animal shelters and pet shops.

Anderson's stance was supported by the Mumbai-based charity Welfare of Stray Dogs, which has been carrying out mass sterilization of stray dogs since 1989.

India has so many dogs roaming its streets because of its high numbers of slum and street dwellers, who often keep the animals as pets, plus a large amount of garbage, which provides readily accessible food for scavenging mutts

I don't see resources being a problem in America, given that we have so much food, and so many people who are predisposed to feed strays. Hell, we even feed the pigeons. There is no reasonable basis to expect that sterilize and release would work in America on limiting resources principles.

Interesting piece that concludes that neither sterilize and release nor kill will work, that the answer is to encourage the sterilization of all pet dogs.

I don't see resources being a problem in America, given that we have so much food, and so many people who are predisposed to feed strays.

twenty years into the program it does not appear to be working to limit populations very well.

Quote:

India has so many dogs roaming its streets because of its high numbers of slum and street dwellers, who often keep the animals as pets, plus a large amount of garbage, which provides readily accessible food for scavenging mutts

The articles you disputed claimed that they have seen more success in doing so through the sterilization program. Since you have disputed their viewpoint how about substantiating yours with a real argument? You've tried an ad hominem, a straw man and now some anecdotal evidence that only says there is a large population of strays in India.

But none of that does anything to refute their claims that sterilization is a better way to control and limit the stray population. So what exactly is your beef with what they said? It sounds like you didn't even bother to read it

Resources are limiting because space is a resource. A certain amount of space is required for a bitch or queen to raise a litter. Space that is occupied by a sterilized animal is not available to be occupied by a fertile animal.

I used the last link of my last post to refute the claims of sterilization and release effectiveness.

Rabies prevention is effectively achieved only by vaccination.

Give it a read if you want, but don't make the false claim that i have offered no evidence.

I have also made the claim that we get more bang for our buck with kill, as it requires catching only once and no release, where as sterilization and release requires multiple catches and releases if rabies is to be controlled, as well as a disposal run after they die in the streets. I also claim that a shot of poison is cheaper than sterilization, which I will not take the time to prove because it seems self evident, however if you want to dispute the claim....

Killing/elimination as a singular control method is also ineffective in controlling dog populations precisely because of the large numbers of community-owned dogs that are able to avoid capture. Permanent removal of a poorly breeding segment of the dog population and/or neutering of this segment will have little success in controlling dog-populations in the long-term. A more complex reason killing is not recommending as a sole control method concerns the ecology of dog populations. The WHO states,
The density of a population of higher vertebrates (including dogs) is almost always near the carrying capacity of the environment. Any reduction in population density through additional mortality is rapidly compensated by better reproduction and survival. In other words, when dogs are removed, the survivors’ life expectancy increases because they have better access to resources and there is less competition for resources.
It is important to note that the WHO/WSPA recommends the elimination of unwanted (feral) dogs for zoonotic disease control (more than 100 diseases, including rabies can be spread from dogs to humans) and not as a critical factor in dog population control.

The density of a population of higher vertebrates (including dogs) is almost always near the carrying capacity of the environment. Any reduction in population density through additional mortality is rapidly compensated by better reproduction and survival. In other words, when dogs are removed, the survivors’ life expectancy increases because they have better access to resources and there is less competition for resources.

I have adopted my cats from a no-kill shelter. Many of these are privately run and they take excellent care of the animals when they come in. In order to adopt from them you must give references and show proof you own your property and/or your landlord will allow pets. You must sign an agreement to have the animal fixed (they also have a lists of vets that will do this for free if you adopt from them). They will give you the history of the animal, plus what sort of family the animal is suited for.