Parade Magazine Poll: 91% Oppose
Mandatory Spay And Neuter Laws
Elected Officials, Please Take Note Of This Poll
by JOHN YATES
The American Sporting Dog Alliance
http://www.americansportingdogalliance.org
A recent poll of the readers of Parade Magazine, America's most
widely read publication, shows that 91 percent of its readers oppose
laws or ordinances that mandate spaying and neutering of pets.
Parade is both the highest circulation magazine in America and also
the most mainstream, having built an empire as a Sunday supplement
to more than 400 newspapers and attracting a reported 71 million
readers a week. If elected officials want to know what will "play in
Peoria," Parade is Peoria. It's readers are ordinary people from all
walks of life, and do not represent any special interest group. They
are your neighbors and constituents.
The magazine published an article about mandatory spay and neuter
laws in its March 16, 2008, issue, following enactment of an
ordinance in Los Angeles. A poll accompanied the article with the
following question: "Should owners be required to sterilize their
pets?"
There were 50,577 responses:
· 91% voted no (45,824 votes)
· 9% voted yes (4,753 votes)
We ask elected officials to pay close attention to the results of
this poll, which has great value because of the mainstream
readership of Parade.
Officials are being bombarded with political pressure from animal
rights groups to pass mandatory sterilization ordinances and laws,
as well as with reams of contradictory information.
The Parade poll says what the people who voted for elected officials
are thinking.
Many communities are considering these kinds of spay/neuter
ordinances now, including Dallas and Santa Barbara. Other
communities have passed these ordinances. In California, legislation
is expected to be reintroduced in the near future mandating
statewide pet sterilization.
The American Sporting Dog Alliance asks everyone who reads this
report to send it to the elected officials who represent you in your
city, town, township, county and state. It is urgent that we let
them know what the vast majority of the voters think about this
issue. We also hope you will send this report to all of your
friends, and cross-post it on message boards.
The American Sporting Dog Alliance works to protect the rights of
dog owners and professionals who own or work with breeds that are
used for hunting. Our grassroots movement is based on independent
research, investigative reporting, getting the word out to hundreds
of thousands of dog owners and elected officials, and giving people
a way to take direct action as citizens. Please visit us on the web
at http://www.americansportingdogalliance.org. We maintain strict
independence and are supported solely by the donations of our
members. Your participation and membership are vital to our mission.
