A Message from ASPCA

Dear New York Advocates, 

Since 1996, a statewide program called the Animal Population Control Program (APCP) has helped fund spay/neuter surgery for adopted pets and the pets of low-income residents. However, New York’s proposed 2010-2011 Executive Budget seeks to eliminate this life-saving program and includes no plan to replace it.

The APCP is funded by a $3 surcharge on licenses for unaltered dogs. If the budget passes as written, this income stream will no longer be reserved for exclusive use by a spay/neuter program, allowing local governments to use the money for whatever they wish—or to stop collecting it at all.

Without some kind of pet sterilization program to meet the needs of low-income New Yorkers, we will likely experience a large increase in the number of unwanted dog and cat births in our state—leading to further overcrowding in shelters and increased euthanasia. The ASPCA proposes that the $3 surcharge remain in effect and be used to fund a new statewide program similar to the APCP.

What You Can Do
Animal control resources are already stretched to their limits—don’t let Albany make matters worse for countless New Yorkers by taking away the only access they have to spay/neuter for their beloved pets. Visit the ASPCA Advocacy Center to learn more and to send an email to your state representatives and Governor Paterson, asking them to amend the state budget to preserve low-cost spay/neuter.

Thank you, New York, for caring about our state’s neediest animals.