Georgia shows the way in fix for pet overpopulation

Feb. 24 is World Spay Day and February is Spay and Neuter Awareness Month in Georgia. February is also Feline Fix by Five month, a reminder to have kittens fixed before they turn five months old. That focus on prevention is important for two reasons: First because fixing animals is the only way to fix […]

Feb. 24 is World Spay Day and February is Spay and Neuter Awareness Month in Georgia. February is also Feline Fix by Five month, a reminder to have kittens fixed before they turn five months old.

That focus on prevention is important for two reasons: First because fixing animals is the only way to fix the chronic problem of unwanted pets and overcrowded shelters. Second, it gets away from the debate over no-kill status.

Each year, shelters in the U.S. euthanize hundreds of thousands of healthy, adoptable dogs and cats due to lack of resources and willing forever families. Sadly, Georgia often ranks among the top five states by most national statistics for shelter kill rates and total number of animals euthanized. But just increasing the number of no-kill shelters does not solve the problem. In many cases no-kill shelters that are full simply turn away incoming animals rather than euthanize for space.

But progress is being made. This year’s ongoing legislative session comes on the heels of a successful year for animal welfare, when seven of the 10 bills supported as beneficial to animals by the Georgia Pet Coalition (GPC) were passed.

Among the seven, advocates say two bills in particular will go a long way toward reducing the number of unwanted pets and improving animal welfare in Georgia. One of them, Senate Bill 20, sponsored by Marietta Republican Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick, provides educational loan repayment of $75,000 for veterinarians who practice full time for a three-year contract in shelter medicine and nonprofit pet sterilization. Georgia is only the second state, after Arizona, to provide such financial support.

“Last session was very successful,” said Peggy McCarthey, a board member at GPC. “This session is lighter, but regulatory action, funding, enforcement and education are also important. We spend considerable time following up on legislation to help ensure that procedures are put in place.” 

Another bill, House Bill 331, sponsored by Concord Republican Rep. Beth Camp, prohibits the sale or barter of dogs, cats and domestic rabbits in unregulated locations such as parking lots, sidewalks, roadsides, parks and seasonal flea markets. That has the dual effect of encouraging people to adopt from shelters, and also encouraging people to have their pets fixed rather than have to give away litters.

Senate Bill 410, which provides for a temporary six-month Georgia license for out-of-state veterinarians and veterinary technicians practicing in shelter medicine or nonprofit sterilization, was passed in 2024. That allows shelters and clinics to bring in out-of-state vets for training and spay-neuter events without having to go through complex re-licensing. 

“We cannot adopt our way out of companion-animal overpopulation,” said Michelle Long Spears, a DeKalb County Commissioner. “We need high-quality, high-volume spaying and neutering. That really gets to the root of the problem. It is the only way to reduce overcrowding at our shelters and hopefully eliminate euthanasia entirely.” 

As if to underscore that very point, DeKalb County opened a new $4 million “pet neighborhood” late last year, with capacity for 120 animals, and it’s already full.

“In DeKalb County we are re-imagining what well-being looks like,” said Spears. “We are increasing capacity, with bricks and mortar, and also better pay for our staff. We’ve been innovative with programs, legislation, and facilities, especially funding and support for spay/neuter training and spay-athons.”

United Spay Alliance developed a “wet lab” where vets are trained by treating actual patients in high-quality, high-volume spaying and neutering. 

“Spay/neuter is the only way to get to the heart of the problem,” said Brianna Lovell Myers, executive director. “If we want more of those procedures to happen we need more vets trained.”

The template for the wet lab is a single day of training so there are no overnight travel expenses. To date, United Spay Alliance has coordinated 17 wet labs in seven states training 76 veterinarians. Four trainings have been held in Georgia since 2024, and at least three more are planned for 2026. LifeLine Animal Project has been the host, with trainers from Spay Neuter Vets. LifeLine manages DeKalb County and Fulton County animal services, and operates two spay and neuter clinics.

The momentum of the past year or two could not come soon enough. “Some shelter staffs and animal advocates were starting to feel hopeless, but the synergies are starting to line up,” said Spears. “People at every level are realizing that pet overpopulation is a solvable problem in the long term.”

There are many parts to the answer for overfull shelters and suffering animals. Better and larger facilities, support for foster and forever families, stronger anti-cruelty laws that are strictly enforced and legislation to shut down puppy mills are all essential, but not sufficient.

For all the years, even decades of dedication by shelter workers and animal advocates at every level, about a thousand dogs a day are killed in this country because there is nowhere for them to go. Fixing animals is the only way to fix the problem. 

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