Running head: ANIMAL OVERPOPULATION 1

-Annotated Bibliography

Rodriguez, Alexandra

The University of Texas at El Paso

RWS 1301

March 29, 2018

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Abstract

This annotated bibliography includes different problems that are presented because of animal

overpopulation and how different authors believe the problems should be solved. This research

was done by finding different sources that provided a main problem with animal overpopulation

as well as the sources having different examples and what should be done to solve the issue in

the correct way. My different sources made me understand how animal overpopulation really is

an issue but also that there are different ways to fix the problem by not hurting the animals.

Animal overpopulation is an issue that hopefully gets solved without hurting the animals.
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Annotated Bibliography

Animal overpopulation affects humans as much as it affects animals themselves. My

major is business marketing and even though it has nothing to do with the scientific life it does

affect marketing in different ways. According to McNeil and Constandy having more and more

pets affects the economy because of the fact that more medicine is needed to keep the pets in

good conditions. More employees have to be hired in order to keep a business going that has to

do with the animal healthcare. Sometimes pets are not able to be rescued completely and it

takes money to put them to sleep and bury them, sometimes the pets are really sick, so they

need all this different attention, so even more money is needed to make this happen. Health

care for animals is not cheap at all and even having to build shelters for animals that are in good

conditions but without a home is only taking more money. Therefore, animal overpopulation is

affecting the economy because some medicine and some shelters are too expensive, and all

animals deserve to be okay.

Research Questions

1) How does animal overpopulation affect the community?

2) At what ratio will animal overpopulation increase?

3) Will animal overpopulation end a good way or in a bad way?

4) What is the main reason for animal overpopulation?

5) Does animal overpopulation take or bring money to the community?

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Annotated Bibliography

Olmedo, C., Camacho, G. & Caire, M. (2008). El Paso animal services survey: Support for a 'no

kill' community

https://digitalcommons.utep.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1077&context=iped_techrep

According to Olmedo, Corral-Camacho, and Caire, there is a problem overall in El Paso

with an excessive number of stray animals. Too many animals are being killed because

there is not enough money and shelters to save them. Having this issue, they want to start

a “No Kill” community, because it is explained in this article that too many animals are

being killed. The percentages that they compared from having to cure stray animals to

just selling them is very different only because they don’t believe they are worth the

money and time. Animal overpopulation affects people only when they don’t get a

benefit out of it. Having them as service animals by some people is not a problem to the

community because there’s a benefit out of it. But when it comes to saving other animals

that need the help of the community they’re not worth it anymore. The “No Kill”

community in this article believes that the shelters should become larger for more

animals to have a home, and that more money should be invested in saving animals.

McNeil, J., & Constandy, E. (February 20, 2006.). Addressing the problem of pet

overpopulation: The experience of new Hanover county animal control

services. Retrieved Animal Overpopulation, 2006,

from https://sph.unc.edu/files/2015/07/nciph-maph-jphmp-452-455.pdf

According to McNeil and Constandy, pet overpopulation is a problem for humans not only

because of the increased rabies exposure risk but also because it puts a strain on animal

control agencies, which must care for, house, and often euthanize the unwanted animals.

This article is claiming that taking care of a lot of stray animals is not worth it. Not only
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is it explaining that it takes a lot to take care of these animals but it is also explaining that

there’s a lot more cases of rabies now and it’s putting a lot of people in danger because

this is not healthy. The different ideas that are presented in this article for solving this big

issue because of animal overpopulation is that they should build more shelters that are

larger and have a lot of staff that will get the animals to get better a lot faster and easier to

get taken care off. They present these different ways that they can solve this issue but

they also include all the prices to make the readers understand that it is a lot of money

just to save animals.

Petoverpopulation. (2010). http://www.aspcapro.org/sites/pro/files/Animalessons_%20Pet_Over

population.pdf

According to Teacher Newsletter of The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty

to Animals, the blame for animal deaths is often unjustly placed on the shelter itself. “Kill

shelter” has come to be synonymous with what is, in reality, an open admission shelter.

Most of the times the community blames the shelters for not taking care of homeless pets;

and just killing them. In this article, it is explained that approximately three million to

four million dogs and cats are in animal shelters across the United States. As a

community people should understand that sometimes it becomes unmanageable,

unsanitary and dangerous for the animals and the workers, when there’s animals that are

really sick and there’s nothing that can be done for them. In this article a project called

“Care-A-Van” was a way to work through this issue. The “Care-A-Van” is an RV turned

into a surgical-suite, where surgeries are performed for animals that don’t even have a

shelter. They tried to cure the animals before they are sent to a shelter that way they can
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survive. Overall in this article it is explained that the death of animals in shelters is not

the fault of the shelter itself.

Prashant, K. (2018). Keeping wildlife in the wild. Retrieved February/27, 2018,

from www.bornfreeusa.org

According to Born Free USA, inspired by the Academy Award winning film Born Free,

we work locally, nationally, and internationally to end wild animal cruelty and suffering

and protect threatened wildlife. Born Free USA also operates one of the country’s largest

primate sanctuaries. Born Free USA came up with a statement that “Killing is not

conservation”, what this means is that killing the wildlife is not a way to keep everyone

else entertain and that it is unnecessary. Born Free USA, wanted to stop all of this

wildlife killing because it is unfair for the animals. By wanting this to really happen,

Born Free USA submitted a request under the Freedom of Information Act, which was

letting them know more about animal hunting. They investigated and they were able to

take about 550 primates, that were some retired from research facilities and many were

rescued from the zoos and private ownerships. In this article Born Free USA took matters

into their own hands and did their own research to be able to save animals and they were

able to accomplish this.

PETA. Companion animal overpopulation. Retrieved March/2, 2018,

from https://www.peta.org/issues/companion-animal-issues/overpopulation/

According to PETA, no one hates that ugly reality more than the people who hold the

syringe, but the alternative—warehousing them in “no-kill” shelters that confine animals

to cages for weeks, months, or years on end—leaves animals to suffer a far worse fate. In

this article it is clearly telling us that the shelters do not want to kill animals that are ill. It
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is more painful for the person putting them to sleep, but keeping them in a cage for a long

period of time is worse for the animals. Approximately two to three million cats and dogs

must be euthanized in animal shelters every year. Animals suffer in the shelters because

they don’t have an owner to give them all the love, but sometimes animals are left to die

on their own. In this article they presented an idea that will help the animal

overpopulation to not grow as much which is a “no-birth nation” which means that

instead of getting their pets to have more babies they should adopt one that is in a shelter

that way those animals can be saved and not bring more animals that might end up

homeless.

PAWS. (2000,). Pet overpopulation. Retrieved from

https://www.paws.org/kids/learn/pets/overpopulation/

According to PAWS, homeless animals often live a sad, lonely, hard life out in the streets

trying to survive on their own. This article states that this is a real big problem because

sometimes the owners of the animals want them to have babies and when it happens they

can’t keep all the babies and they just leave them on their own. Sometimes animals

become homeless when they run away from their home and they do not have the correct

identification to be able to return them to their home then they become homeless. In this

article it states several ideas on how to end pet overpopulation, one example that they

provide I shaving your pets spayed and neuters, this keeps the animals from having

unwanted babies. Another way that this article provides to end pet overpopulation is by

adopting your next pet from your local animal shelter, there’s a lot of pets looking for a

home. In this article they also state that if you tell others on how to end animal

overpopulation maybe it’ll make a difference.

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Zelman, J. (2017). Animal overpopulation: What’s the solution to 600 million stray dogs?

Retrieved from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/18/animal-overpopulation-

sterilization-adoption_n_863322.html

According to Zelman, the headlines speak for themselves, but animals cannot. What the

author in this article was explaining was that the number of stray animals are large and

that’s why a lot of shelters don’t have anymore space. But what the community is doing

is that they get other animals to have babies or they buy other pets from a breeder. The

same community agrees that shelters are killing and killing unwanted animals but then

the same community is bringing more and more unwanted animals. In this article they

stated that the best way to solve this problem is by getting the community to adopt pets

from the shelters. And by the community to not keep having their own pets have more

babies when they know that they will be unwanted.