MEOW! My name is June Buggie and I have something to say!
Last month DeDe told you about veterinarians protesting at a low-cost spay/neuter clinic in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
Well yesterday we learned that the Alabama State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners voted on a set of rules that would have made the state’s nonprofit spay/neuter clinics illegal. The rules were defeated, but not before the State Senate got involved and passed a measure that would have over-ruled the Board’s decision.
This made me boiling mad! For one thing, the AL State Board is chaired by Dr. Robert Pitman, a vet whose practice is located in Athens, Alabama. That’s the town where Jen was born. Hisssssss!!!!
But even more troubling is the fact that Alley Cat Allies surveyed vets in Alabama about the proposed rule and found that almost one-third of vets surveyed supported the measure. These vets claimed the nonprofit clinics had an unfair business advantage. Also, many clinics refused to give a response, which makes me think they probably also supported the measure.
Folks, this frightens me! Are there really that many vets out there that oppose low-cost spay/neuter clinics? Will other groups try the same tactic as they did in Alabama?
I encourage you to remain vigilant, not only in your state, but in others as well. I fear this veterinarian backlash isn’t going away real soon.
MEOW!
Dogpaddling Through Life 
Good for you, Miss June, for letting people know about this.
uh….. that’s Mister June Buggie please! 🙂
It has never occurred to me that veterinarians might be against spay/neuter clinics. How sad. So a pregnant dog is more likely to bring them money? Or, they just want the money from the spay/neutered themselves? This should be a study. What are veterinarian’s positions across the country on spay/neuter? It could tell us a lot and maybe help to address the issue if a systemic issue.
Very interesting and sad.
And don’t just think this only happens in the south. Here’s a link to an article about vets who opposed a clinic in California: http://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/vet-cover-stories/shelter-crosses-line.aspx
Its got nothing to do with animal welfare and everything to do with money…… I hope they will accept the ruling and just let folk get animals neutered…. x
Greed don’t go away….. it just sits and waits for the next opportunity. That’s why we have to be vigilant.
What is it with business now – everything is all about the dollar. When did we go from being a compassionate nation to a greedy nation? 🙂
Oh honey, we’ve been that way for a LOOOOOONNNNNGGGGG time now.
That’s really worrying…
Misaki, you just don’t know!
😦 meowwww
*sigh*
i had not given it much thought until i had to arrange for one for my new buddy “slinky cat” who by the way is a ‘savanah cat’. i called the regular vets and for a male cat it’s $125.00,female cats are $245.00. then i thought wait a minute..what about the cheaper alternatives? so i checked on the internet and called a few. they average $45.00. i had wondered how the regular vet clinics felt about that to,now i know.i have decided though to take slinky to the regular vet,because he needs shots and he has an issue with his jaw and has trouble swallowing at times. right now he’s all snuggled up in my lap…:-) murphy cat however is a little upset. they and i say thank you june buggie for a timely post 🙂
That’s great that you’re financially able to make that choice. But many people aren’t. These are the people that need to have options for spay/neuter services. Trust me, there are alot of folks that need a companion because that’s about all they got going for them.
well it’s not so much that i’m finacially able to, it’s that i’ll have some money coming in next week. trust me if it wasn’t for the jaw/swallowing problem he has i’d take him to the cheaper one. it has to be lonely to not have another person at home and not have a pet to.so i applaud the agencies that help with the spay/neuter
If this trend spreads to other states, where will low-income people and animal rescue groups go for spay/neuter surgeries? That would mean more litters, and more homeless pets! It’s ridiculous.
It is Vicki. That’s why we have to make sure we stay up-to-date on what’s going on. We live in FL but use the services of an Alabama vet, and yet we had no idea this was going on in that state until recently.
😦 That’s terrible!!!!
The Florida Furkids
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If everyone was an animal lover, the world would be a MUCH better place.
Sad news, June Buggie…sometimes the world is so unfair!
It’s all about the money, fini!
The job as a vet has to be helping poor animals, doesn’t it? How terrible to hear about those vets who oppose to a low- cost spay/neuter clinic….. 😦
This makes me very sad. I do know that vets are having a hard time in this economy. Owners are going to vets less frequently because of the cost – especially senior citizens who are being priced out of pet ownership.
Sadly many clinics force employed vets to “push” unnecessary procedures and treatments. Some vets are disheartened and refuse to work in those clinics – Often one man/group will operate multiple clinics in an area…and they have more lobbying clout because of their size.
We have encountered vet clinics that do not care about feral cats and refuse to work on them ( no point as they don’t have owners who can pay year after year)
The low cost clinics are important. (Although please check costs: we also found 2 supposed low cost clinics cost MORE for care.)
Some vets do care and donate much time and effort to rescues – please support those.
What happens in one state bleeds over to others – must watch this carefully!
yes, I doubt seriously this is an isolated incident. Of course, Alabama was probably a test case and they now see it won’t be so easy. Perhaps they should have started in Missouri- their political leaders don’t care about animals there.
With the number of animals killed everyday in shelters, how can ANYONE object to encouraging people to spay/neuter? I was under the impression these clinics only offer spay/neutering services. That leaves the vets with everything else. I’ve looked for low cost vet care for my mother’s dog. It doesn’t seem to exist in this part of PA. The thing is, once the problem was explain to our vet, she discounted her services. But how many people don’t feel comfortable barring their financial soul to the vet, so their pet doesn’t get a vet visit or ends up in a shelter? Everyone needs to be able to make a living and I wish nothing but good things for our vet. I don’t know what the answer is, but there must be a better way to provide for our 4footed family members. Maybe a discount for seniors? Or a first come first serve clinic day, where there are no appointments and vaccinations and well pets visits are provided. Anything more serious could be referred to normal office hours? If vets don’t like low cost services being provided they need to come up with an answer so we all can enjoy having a pet and our pets get the care they need. Knowing people who are giving up their pets because of the high cost of vet care makes this a very touchy subject for me.
Many of the vets around here have solved that problem by offering a credit service you can apply for. Of course, if you don’t qualify for credit, you’re screwed.
I know Texas is finally taking neuter/spay issues seriously, just like with animal abuse. These shouldn’t be political matters.
Sadly this became a political matter because of the veterinarians. And don’t think Texas is off the hook. You guys have plenty of animal welfare atrocities to answer for too.
Sad….
that is so ridiculous!
Profit before ethics! 😦
I guess that’s what capitalism is about.
Thanks for alerting us to this issue. Until DeDe’s post, I really had no idea vets would ever take such a greedy view of low-cost spay/neuter clinics. In Kansas City, we have an extremely active animal rescue community. I am sure there would be organized protests in the event of spay/neuter backlash here. But you never know…
That makes me sad. 😦
Why does it always have to come down to greed? Maybe if vets charged more reasonable prices, people wouldn’t have to look for low costs spay/neuter clinics.
oh crap! ohhh…sorry…June B that gets me really riled up…Dad and Mom volunteer with a private animal rescue organization and low cost spay neuter is a really big deal to help families who are low income be able to spay neuter. And we provide free when we can. I will watch closely in CA to make sure this does not build any momentum here
Terribly sad… 😦
Good work, June Buggie!
MEOW!
‘Unfair business advantage’? What kind of reason is that? Ah, JB, you have every reason yourself to rant.
Meow! These vets are crazy!
Providing access to low-cost spay-neuter is so important — thanks for helping to spread the word. ~ Kat