National Council on Pet Population Study and Policy
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1993:
The newly formed National Council on Pet Population Study and Policy held its
first working meeting September 18 at the American Humane Association headquarters in
Englewood, Colorado. The discrepancy between the AHA projections and the shelter-by-
shelter, state-by-state statistics was briefly raised, but not discussed in detail.
Formed last July 17 at the 1993 annual convention of the American Veterinary
Medical Association, the NCPPSP plans to conduct an epidemiological study of pet over-
population, using yet-to-be-established regional data collection centers.
According to veterinary epidemiologist Dr. Philip Kass of the school of veteri-
nary medicine at the University of California at Davis, an epidemiological study is not so
much concerned with generalizing or extrapolating data, as with identifying the nature and
development of a particular problem. The theory behind the NCPPSP is that just as the eti-
ology of disease differs from one subpopulation to another, e.g. AIDS spreading at differ-
ent rates among homosexuals, hemophiliacs, and intravenous drug users, so too the etiol-
ogy of unwanted or surplus pets may differ from comunity to community, and also differ
for dogs and cats. Just as different types of fire require different firefighting technology,
different sources of pet overpopulation require different solutions.
Members of the NCPPSP besides AHA and the AVMA include the American
Animal Hospital Association, the American Kennel Club, the American SPCA, the
Association of Teachers of Veterinary Public Health, the Cat Fanciers Association, the
Humane Society of the U.S., the Massachusetts SPCA, and the National Animal Control
Association.
––Margaret Anne Cleek and ANIMAL PEOPLE staff
