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US require permits to sell unsterilised pets
State lawmakers are looking at a bill that would require pet retailers in Hawaii to sterilize all cats and dogs before selling them.
Passing such a law would lessen the suffering of feral cats because of overpopulation and reduce the number of animals euthanized in shelters, said Inga Gibson, state director of the Humane Society of the United States. Many feral cats are the offspring of abandoned house cats that haven't been sterilized, she added.
House Bill 243 notes that an unsterilized female cat can give birth to two litters a year, which, extrapolated over seven years, could lead to 400,000 cats.
Feral cat colonies continue to grow despite various efforts to control the cat population, and the pressures of overpopulation lead to starvation of the weakest and the spread of disease and mange, a form of animal cruelty when uncontrolled, the bill says.
"It's a tremendous issue," Gibson said. "We have a large feral cat issue throughout the state. One of the contributing factors is the sale of unsterilized cats."
Theresa Donnelly, who breeds boxers and is secretary of the Boxer Club of Hawaii, said the bill wouldn't affect purebred dogs because hobby breeders usually sell person to person, which is not regulated by the bill.
"Any reputable breeder would never sell to a pet store anyway," she said. Hobby breeders want to meet potential owners to make sure their dogs will have a safe home and possibly establish a relationship with the new owners to promote ethical breeding, she said. "People who want to breed animals should be mentored."