There is a newer version of the New York Consolidated Laws
2006 New York Code - Legislative Findings.
§ 17-801 Legislative findings. The City Council hereby finds that New York City is experiencing a serious overpopulation of unwanted dogs and cats. This is a matter of serious concern affecting the public health, safety and welfare. The Center for Animal Care and Control, which operates animal shelters under contract with the City's Department of Health and mental hygiene, estimates that 67,000 unwanted, stray or abandoned dogs and cats entered its facilities in 1998. Of these animals, approximately seventy percent were not spayed or neutered. While wandering the City's streets, homeless dogs and cats reproduce at alarming rates, exacerbating a potentially unhealthy and dangerous situation. As a result of this situation, dog packs have formed in some areas, increasing numbers of individuals and animals are at risk for rabies, and many homeless animals have become the victims of vehicular accidents. These animals also suffer from lack of food and water and exposure to the elements. Given the large and growing number of unwanted dogs and cats, the Council finds that a law providing for a full-service animal shelter in each borough and the spaying and neutering of animals adopted from animal shelters or purchased from pet shops is necessary to protect the health, safety and welfare of New York City residents. The Council also finds that with the advancement of medical knowledge over the past ten years, many veterinarians now advocate and practice early sterilization of pets, as early as eight weeks of age. Veterinarians at animal hospitals and humane shelters across the country, as well as the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, have performed thousands of early spay-neuter surgeries. Many veterinary associations now also agree that even though any surgery has inherent risks, kittens and puppies heal faster and are lower surgical risks than older animals who may be ill, in heat, or pregnant. If dogs or cats are spayed or neutered before adoption from a shelter or purchase from a pet shop, then the chance that they will add more unwanted offspring to the numbers that already exist will be eliminated.
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