Leonhardt: Long-term Stray Pet Control Requires Legislative Assistance

The West Virginia Spay Neuter Assistance Program faces a looming gap in funds and a persistent, statewide problem that’s growing.  

“Hopefully someday we won’t have this problem, but as long as we have the issue, we need to continue with the program,” Agriculture Commissioner Kent Leonhardt, whose agency administers the program, said. 

The issue is the number of abandoned and lost dogs and cats who then give birth to wild or feral offspring. As they age, those babies have babies and ultimately create a nuisance in their search for food. They can spread disease and sometimes attack livestock. They are also vulnerable to illness, predators, extreme weather and starvation. 

The Spay Neuter Program, founded by the legislature in 2018, aimed to control the state’s population of strays at no cost to taxpayers. It generates a fee from pet food sales that’s funded more than 98,180 spay or neuter surgeries in all 55 counties statewide.  

“With our vigorous outreach for both owned cats and dogs and our TNR [Trap-Neuter-Return]  programs, we have eliminated the endless boxes of ‘free’ puppies and kittens that used to greet us at every grocery store visit, and our community now thinks of spay/neuter as a normal part of pet ownership,” Jane Seegar, Pendleton Animal Welfare Society board member, said. 

But the program failed to generate the level of income that was projected and the number of procedures has been substantially higher. The sizable gap in funds was covered by a grant that is now ending. 

Leonhardt said the solution is two pronged. 

“First off, please try not to abandon animals into the wild. If they’re unwanted, please take them to the shelter. They know best how to handle these animals that are in need of care,” he said.  

The second thing is support the program. Let your legislators know that it’s a very important program that we are doing good with the program.  

Shelters report significant declines in euthanasia rates where the program has been most active.