Spay Week Ireland 2010

Every year since it was launched in 2002 as part of a grass roots effort by animal welfare groups and individuals across Ireland, Spay Week Ireland has been highlighting the importance of spaying and neutering to address the pet overpopulation crisis

From this Sunday May 25th, Spay Week Ireland 2008 will appeal for action to end the plight of the our unwanted animals by promoting the key message that it is time kill the problems, not the pets.

“Since we started Spay Week five years ago, the number of dogs destroyed in Ireland has gone down by about 20% but we still have a long way to go,” says television vet and Spay Week Ireland organiser Pete Wedderburn. “Animal destruction rates in Ireland remain at an appallingly high level. On a per capita basis, we destroy unwanted dogs at ten times the rate of our nearest neighbour in the UK.”

No similar figures exist for cats but using a formula devised by the University of Florida, the animal welfare group ANVIL estimates that every year, a staggering 180,000 kittens die within a week of birth.

“Pet owners need to be responsible and stop contributing to the crisis of unwanted litters of puppies and kittens in this country,” Pete Wedderburn says.

“Early spaying and neutering is also the healthy choice for pets. Research shows that early neutering dramatically reduces an animal’s chances of developing common cancers and other diseases. It keeps pets healthy, helps control the over-population of stray cats and prevents the needless destruction of perfectly healthy animals in pounds.”