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.