23.0. Possible Solution
Personally, I believe that strong laws to deal with the owners of any animal that causes any unwarranted injury or death to any other animal or human should be on the books and vigorously enforced.
The “breeding” of animals in people’s homes or back yards to sell for a quick buck and “puppy mills” should be outlawed. Ultimately, this would help to reduce or eliminate the unwanted animals that are euthanized or meet some other death merely because there is no one to have them and take care of them.
In Houston, currently, it is estimated that there are a million (1,000,000) stray dogs on Houston streets. If the City had the resources, all of these animals would be picked up and euthanized. This reaction to the problem is unacceptable. The better solution is to be proactive and prevent the propagation of unwanted animals.
The propagation of all dogs should be done by breeders of purebreds and mutts, and they should be required to be licensed and inspected to insure compliance with the laws. The culling or killing of puppies by breeders because they do not match their image of an animal of that breed or are deemed inferior should be outlawed. Anyone not in compliance should face severe penalties. All such animals should be licensed and micro-chipped so that ownership can be determined if the animal is ever involved in unacceptable behavior.
At a minimum, pet owners should be required to spay or neuter their animals and have all animals micro-chipped and registered.
Pet owners should be required to be licensed after they have successfully passed an examination on the care, training and acceptable behavior of the animals they want to own. Drivers and people carrying concealed weapons are required to pass an examination to get a license: why shouldn’t owners of something that has the potential to cause injury or death do the same?
