This week a nationwide campaign by the Ministry of Agriculture for the encouragement of spaying and castration of dogs has gotten underway under the headline: “Be humane – take care of your dog”. The goal of the campaign, which is taking place for the fourth year, is the decrease in the numbers of abandoned dogs and the prevention of the birth of unwanted puppies. In the framework of the campaign dog owners can castrate and spay their dogs at a special price with the support of the government, which has allotted 1.65 million NIS to this matter.
The launching of the campaign has been arranged at the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Israel, with the participation of the Minister of Agriculture, Shalom Simchon, Member of the Knesset Eitan Kabel, who heads the Knesset political action group for the benefit of animals, and the singer Yardena Arazi, who recorded the radio broadcast that accompanies the campaign. The three of them took a tour of the Society’s facilities, talked with the employees and the volunteers at the site, and were informed about the situation of abandoned dogs in Israel.
According to estimates, 100,000 dogs are abandoned each year in Israel. Most of them find their deaths in terrible suffering on the streets (from accidents, dehydration, starvation, illnesses and abuse) or by euthanasia at the various dog shelters because there are not enough people interested in adopting them. Many of the abandoned dogs are only puppies, born in homes to non-neutered females, where the owners were unable to find adoptive homes for them. The only humanitarian solution to this problem is the castration and spaying operations, which decrease the number of puppies born and contribute to the ending of this long-time vicious circle of hundreds of thousands of births and hundreds of thousands of deaths.
It is important to note that aside from the necessary decrease in unwanted births, castration and spaying have additional advantages: these operations improve the quality of life of the animals, extend their life expectancy, and in their wake protect the dogs from various diseases.
Unfortunately, many dog owners are of the mistaken opinion that a female dog should be allowed to give birth at least once, since the neutering and spaying operations are not natural and that these operations are accompanied by side effects. However, these operations stop the production of hormones that dictate sexual behavior, in such a way that the dogs do not perceive any lack, and the side effects can be treated. In the end, responsibility is the catchword. The dog owners should understand that they are responsible not only for their dog, but also for the coming generations, and therefore, they should take care to have their dog neutered or spayed.
This neutering and spaying campaign allows dog owners to carry out these operations at discounted prices at veterinary clinics all over the country, whose details appear in the website of the Ministry of Agriculture (www.moag.gov.il). Campaign prices: neutering of a female dog – 400 NIS maximum and spaying of a male – 420 NIS. In special cases, such as operating on a pregnant dog, an especially large dog or a dog older than 7 years, the veterinarian is authorized to charge an additional 200 NIS. In addition, neutered and spayed dogs will entitle their owners to a discount of 60% on the dog registration and the rabies vaccination.
We, at the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Israel, encourage and bless the campaign, are taking an active part in it, and are charging for the neutering and spaying operations sums that are lower than those recommended by the Ministry of Agriculture. At the veterinary clinic of the Society you can neuter or spay your dog for only 250 NIS. In special cases as noted above, the price will be 400 NIS. Furthermore, the campaign at the Society for the neutering and spaying of cats is continuing, in its framework we neuter and spay cats for the price of only 100 NIS.
