California Spay And Neuter License Plate Fund Project On Verge Of Collapse

LOS ANGELES (AP) — In a state where people wear their hearts on their bumpers, a specialty license plate campaign by California pet lovers to save animal lives needs saving.

With more dogs, cats and cars than any other state, it would seem pet lovers could rally enough support for a plan to end pet overpopulation and cut euthanasia. But with three months to go, they are struggling to get the support they need.

The Department of Consumer Affairs Veterinary Medical Board is the campaign's sponsor and the California Spay & Neuter License Plate Fund, Inc. was set up to pre-sell 7,500 plates before June 2012.

That target must be hit for the plates to go into production or the program could collapse, with the money being refunded.

Volunteers, using donations for fliers and brochures, pre-sold 4,000 plates, said Judie Mancuso of Laguna Beach, president of the fund and member of the veterinary board.

In 2010, nearly 868,000 dogs and cats entered animal shelters in California. More than half were euthanized.

Spay and neuter is the best way to stop overpopulation and cut the euthanasia rate, Mancuso said. In these economic times, she said there is no better way to pay for surgeries than license plates because "it is not a tax and not a fee."

Can pet lovers sell 3,500 plates in three months when it took 21 months to sell 4,000?

Representatives from Petco Animal Supplies Inc. promised two weeks ago to put fliers in all their California stores, Mancuso said.

And Assembly Bill 610, by Assemblyman Jose Solorio, D-Anaheim, has been amended by the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee to extend the deadline another year. It still has to go back through some committees and faces floor votes, but Mancuso is optimistic if they need more time they will have it.

One of the biggest problems, Mancuso said, is that people don't see anything for their money for up to three years.

It takes up to 10 months after all the conditions are met to get the prison-made plates into production, Department of Motor Vehicles spokeswoman Jessica Gonzalez said.

If the campaign does fail, pets will be in good company. Girl Scouts, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and the San Francisco 49ers have been unable to sell enough plates.

But no state seems a better fit for a pet plate. There are nearly 32 million registered vehicles. There are more than 37.7 million people. With six of 10 Americans having pets, there could be at least 23 million pet owners in the state.

Actor, artist and animal activist Pierce Brosnan created and donated the artwork for the plate — using his own rescues Shilo and Angel Baby as models.

It costs $50 to reserve a sequentially numbered specialty plate. A new or transferred vanity plate is $98. Annual renewal fees are $40 for standard plates and $78 for vanity plates. These costs are in addition to regular DMV license fees.

Money will be refunded if the campaign collapses. But if it succeeds, Mancuso said history shows them they can expect sales to double or triple in the year after the plates become available and people see them on the road.

California has 10 specialty plates, benefiting among others firefighters and veterans' organizations.

The plates have been a boon for the causes they support. The most popular (kids) has brought in $41 million since 1994.

In 2001, the state increased the number of pre-paid applications required from 5,000 to 7,500, Gonzalez said, because it costs almost $400,000, including $270,000 for programming, to put a plate into production. Fees from the initial 7,500 applications cover those costs, she said.

In 2002, a Senate bill supporting a "choose life" plate was rejected. An anti-abortion group filed a lawsuit and in 2003, a federal judge ordered the state to stop allowing specialty plates until it fixed the selection process, which he said gave the Legislature too much authority to suppress a point of view.

Requiring a sponsor answered the court's concerns and became part of the law in 2006.

But there still hasn't been a new plate in California since 2002.

___

Online:

— http://www.caspayplate.com

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Comments

[Yeb Beirta]

04:28 AM on 04/13/2012

Breeders are the cause of this...they are all sick in my opinion. They don't at all care about the welfare of these dogs, they are in it for profit with NO moral boundaries. Volunteer ONE day at a shelter...then tell me you'd (OVER) pay for a breeder dog when sooo many dogs are in need of homes in your local shelters just hoping someone steps up to give them a second chance at life.
This is a good idea though and headed in the right direction of educating the public on stopping pet over population.

[oldwolf49]

02:51 AM on 04/10/2012

I myself was neutered years ago without any ill effects.

[Christian Figueroa]

06:30 PM on 04/09/2012

sell 'spay and neuter conservatives' plates. I'd buy one.

[oldwolf49]

02:50 AM on 04/10/2012

Right on!!

[magic underwear]

06:54 AM on 04/10/2012

Brilliant-f@f

[LoveAndRespectAnimals]

03:56 PM on 04/09/2012

"Spay/neuter is the best way to stop overpopulation..."? Actually, without STOPPING FOR GOOD breeders & puppy mills, overpopulation/abuse will continue no matter how many of us spay/neuter ours.

Yes I spay/neuter and support laws, but just recently Baldwin Park CA started enforcing a spay/neuter law and their shelter was flooded with an large number of animals turned in by betrayers because they didn't want to spay/neuter them, and those were the "lucky" ones not just abandoned.

One reason people don't want to spay/neuter is because of the difficulty when making an appointment, such as the multitude of vaccines they intimidate people into before surgery...absolutely ridiculous, dangerous and adding to the expense. And people who abandon their dogs at any inconvenience?...irresponsible coldhearted dimwits.

So the problem is MUCH deeper than this license plate campaign and will not be solved/alleviated so simply. I wish them well but think all efforts should go towards shutting down ALL commercial breeders (the huge hideous root) before anything else, as well as working on the veterinarians to make spay/neuter easy/simple. We should all write at every opportunity to those "in power" stating that.

Some "pet" stores are now adopting out shelter dogs instead of selling mill puppies...a good sign, but we've a long way to go since the mills find other outlets (vivisection labs etc.).

These animals deserve only the best, and look what they get :-(

[bestuvall]

02:56 PM on 04/09/2012

Registration fees for vehicles in CA are already astronomical..there is no real place for these funds to go and no actual set up for how the monies will be distributed if the plates are sold.
Spay/neuter is an option that most animal owners already opt for as shown here:
The following statistics were compiled from the American Pet Products Association 2011-2012 National Pet Owners Survey.

Dogs

There are approximately 78.2 million owned dogs in the United States
Thirty-nine percent of U.S. households own at least one dog

Twenty-one percent of owned dogs were adopted from an animal shelter

Seventy-eight percent of owned dogs are spayed or neutered

Cats

There are approximately 86.4 million owned cats in the United States
Thirty-three percent of U.S. households own at least one cat

Twenty-one percent of owned cats were adopted from an animal shelter

Eighty-eight percent of owned cats are spayed or neutered

so 78% and 88% already spayed and neutered..most people are responsible owners already.
Spaying and neutering pets is a great idea when done by choice and with a consultation with your veterinarian.
If groups want to raise money to donate to low cost spay/neuter clinics they should sell bumper stickers. That way they can control where the money goes. As noted here CA citizens love their bumper stickers and their pets. it does not cost almost $700,000 dollars for start up.

[Kenz300]

02:08 PM on 04/09/2012

Over population of pets is a big problem.

It is a shame that so many are put to death each year in shelters.

This plate is a good idea and deserves support.

[FrenchKissed]

06:15 AM on 04/10/2012

I agree with you Kenz, though it's less of a problem now than it was a couple decades ago.

I think the bigger problem is people not taking pet ownership seriously enough. People need to understand when they're adopting a pet that it's a commitment for life. Don't get a pet unless you're prepared to invest the time and money needed. Don't give up your pet because you got a new job, are going to school, your new spouse doesn't like pets, you have a kid or you no longer have time for it. If you have to move, do everything possible to keep your pet.

If you do have to surrender your dog to a shelter some things you should ask yourself... is your dog more than 4 years old? is your dog a pit bull? does your dog growl at you if you try to take away his food while he's eating? is your dog shy around people he doesn't know? If you said yes to any of these questions, your dog will probably be euthanized. If you have to surrender your cat you should ask yourself... is your cat a kitten? If not, there is a good chance it will be euthanized.

And lastly, never EVER buy someone a pet as a present unless that person really wants it and comes with you to pick it out. Pets have distinct personalities and it's important that suitable matches are made.

[willdaredevil]

01:50 PM on 04/09/2012

i did not know there was a pet over population crisis going on