This petition is an initiative by Indy Dog Advocates. It is intended for residents of Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana ONLY. Please do not sign if you do not live in Indianapolis.

There is a man-made dog overpopulation crisis in Indianapolis and dogs are suffering as a result.  As of October 3, 2023, Indianapolis Animal Care Services (IACS) said they had 441 animals in the shelter, but they can only reasonably care for 296 animals daily. There are animals in crates in the halls and offices all over the shelter. The fact that more dogs and other animals come into the shelter than go out for adoption or to rescues has created an unsustainable situation. This results in the euthanasia of adoptable dogs. In fact, IACS is a high-kill shelter -- about one in four dogs are killed. See our video about the overpopulation crisis here: https://youtu.be/wvw_US0QPyU 

Animals come into the shelter due a variety of reasons: evictions, landlord problems, lease breed restrictions, cost of owning pets, neglect, abuse, use in dog fighting, strays, or they are pets that are lost. Owners who do not get their pets spayed/neutered and irresponsible backyard breeders are primarily at fault.

The Indianapolis City-County Council, Mayor and Marion County Prosecutor need to address three (3) areas:

1) Encourage spay/neuter of dogs in Indianapolis by making more additional low cost spay/neuter services available. Low cost spay/neuter services are available from several sources in Marion County. However, the demand for their services far outstrips the availability.

 2) Require the licensure of all breeders.  Additionally, each breeder should be required to microchip the dogs in their possession and register them so they can be returned to the breeder if they end up at IACS. 

3) Increase prosecution of animal related crimes by allocation of additional resources solely dedicated to animal abuse, neglect, dog-fighting.  As a recent FBI investigation into a local drug ring that was also involved in dog-fighting shows, people who are involved in dog fighting are very often involved in other criminal activity. Studies have shown that people who abuse animals also commit other crimes. Prosecution of animal related crimes can bring dangerous criminals to justice.

The canine overpopulation crisis in Indianapolis is a man-made problem that we must now take responsibility for and fix. Over the course of a few years, these three (3) items will make a big difference to the strain on IACS, the canine overpopulation problem and high rate of euthanasia.

Please SIGN and SHARE with everyone you know in Indianapolis.

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