L.A. on the Cutting Edge, Literally….

On Friday Feb. 1st, the Los Angeles City Council voted to approve mandatory spaying and neutering of cats and dogs under the age of 4 months. The goal of the initiative is to empty all shelters of unwanted pets. A worthwhile goal, surely, but one that has opinions on both sides. Questions abound, one of them being, how will this be enforced? Will dog owners be stopped out on their daily stroll and asked to show proof of desexing? What about cat owners? Bob Barker, who many may remember as the host of The Price is Right, supports the initiative. He always ended his game show reminding people to spay and neuter their pets. You can read more about the law in this Los Angeles Times article.

One has to wonder if the Japanese authorities are aware of this new law. Is it one they’d be willing to copy? How would Japanese pet owners react to such a law? This is still the land where vets tell pet owners not to neuter dogs until after one year or to spay females until after their first heat. It would be interesting to hear their justification for the wait now that L.A. is mandating it at 4 months. We’ll have to wait and see if this is something Japan chooses to adopt or not….