The proposed ordinance to spay, neuter, and microchip Huntington Beach dogs and cats is just another nanny ordinance to revoke the basic rights of pet ownership from the pet owning community! P.O.W.E.R. (Pet Owners Want Equal Rights) is a community group of pet owners and non-pet owners that was formed in opposition to such an ordinance.

The Huntington Beach City Council seems to ignore statistics. The statistics that the city council utilized to base their decision to go forward with drafting the proposal, directly show that such an ordinance is unwarranted in Huntington Beach (see the Facts section in the HB Interdepartmental Communication posted on this site). Furthermore, the latest Real Estate statistics published in the Orange County Register (The Wave) on Thursday, April 19, 2007 shows that Huntington Beach is a very affluent area. According to the OC Register statistics, the averages of the average home price in all four zip codes of Huntington Beach (92646, 92647, 92648, and 92649) is $1,254,306. Pet owners tend to spend more on veterinary services, dog training and behavior specialists, grooming services, and pet supplies, according to 31 Pet Products and Services Market Reports from Packaged Facts (http://www.packagedfacts.com/pet-products-services-c124). It only makes sense that those pet owners with more money tend to spend even more on their pets.  It is clear that responsible pet owners really love and value their pets and are investing more in their pets today than ever.

It is unimaginable that the Huntington Beach City Council is considering robbing the citizens and local veterinarians of their basic rights as pet owners and health care providers to make health care decisions for their pets by forcing them to spay, neuter, and microchip their animals. Additionally, for older animals or those who are ill, these procedures could impose detrimental and unnecessary risks to life. The risks of any major surgery utilizing general anesthesia include loss of life. Why should the responsible pet owners of Huntington Beach be forced to jeopardize the lives of their beloved pets?

The Huntington Beach City Council has been preoccupied with the notion of depriving the city residents of their basic freedoms as pet owners. This is certainly contrary to the reason that most voted for those council members who support such an ordinance. The City itself has over 200,000 residents, as cited in the Huntington Beach Official City Web Site (http://www.ci.huntington-beach.ca.us/Residents). Even if the stray animals did, by chance, belong to City residents, these figures would only apply to about 0.7% of the population. Why chastise the entire population at large? Huntington Beach City Council Members should focus their efforts where they are truly needed, instead of wasting time and tax payer’s money, trying to revoke the rights of the majority of responsible pet owners who reside in the community.