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Why Are Animals Euthanized? According to the Humane Society, the number of pets that are put to death via euthanasia has been decreasing in recent years. Unfortunately, the decrease seems barely noticeable due to the daunting statistic by the U.S. Humane Society. Shockingly enough, there are 2.7 million dogs and cats are put to death, or euthanized, in shelters each year. On the other hand, The U.S. Human Society reports that between 3 and 4 million dogs and cats are adopted each year, which is amazing – for the half that are adopted into loving homes, that is. Low Adoption Rates and Overpopulation of pets. You might be thinking, “Wait, didn’t you just say that millions of pets are being adopted every year?” That is correct and it does seem confusing to think that adoption rates are low but when there are millions more pets left behind, we must acknowledge that “low” will always be “low” until most pets find homes. There are not enough people out there adopting pets, unfortunately. 
Why? There are too many animals are being born. One of the largest contributors of pet overpopulation can be directly linked to breeding for profit. We’re talking about “puppy mills”. You know, you hear about it all the time – puppies spending their entire lives in cages not even being able to turn around. Sometimes they share small cages with multiple other puppies. Basically, these outfits put profit above the health and well-being of the animals. How can we let this happen? Legally, the very existence of puppy-mills is not a crime. Additionally, there are many states that do not have adequate laws (or any laws) put in place regarding the treatment of animals. That seems ridiculous, and you’re right it is. The laws that do exist are either slated as administrative or animal cruelty laws. When administrative laws are broken, citations are given to the breeding establishment aka puppy-mill. If laws regarding animal cruelty are broken, the puppy-mill may be charged. It sounds easy, right? Well, not so. Law enforcement must only enter these establishments if probably cause exists, and that is essentially where the problem exists. Now what? Organizations such as the U.S. Humane Society, the ASPCA and other rescue organizations across the United States have been trying to educate the public. New legislation must be put in place to raise the standards of care of the treatment of our animals. The ASPCA has been working actively to promote new legislation to raise the standard of care that is required of “puppy mills”. In a nut shell, the overpopulation of animals is directly linked to puppy mills and the lack of proper legislation to hold puppy-mills accountable for their treatment of animals. In turn, more and more dogs are finding their way to shelters to be euthanized each year. You can do your part by at least helping to raise awareness in regards to the laws regulation puppy-mills as well as initiating a letter writing campaign to state and federal officials.
