Is the pet population in America really so out of control that Drew Carey needs to tell the audience to get theirs spayed and neutered at the end of a Price is Right episode?
Is the pet population in America really so out of control that Drew Carey needs to tell the audience to get theirs spayed and neutered at the end of a Price is Right episode?
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As a country compared to other countries? No, I don’t think so. I think it’s a thing he said every episode for decades. It it responsible to spay and neuter your pets and most people do.
That is also the traditional ending of the show.
Bob Barker started it when he was host.
Never felt older in my life than I have reading this question
Perhaps it is the case that the pet population is only under control due to the continual reminders from misters Carey and Barker.
It was the sign-off from Bob Barker, the original host, going back to the 70s. Keep in mind The Price Is Right is also a morning game show – it typically fills the gap between the morning news show & the noon news – so the audience is largely old folks, stay at home moms, and kids who are home sick from school. Most Americans associate TPIR with staying home from school.
It’s a holdover from the original host of Price Is Right, Bob Barker. Barker was an animal rights activist and used the sign-off of the show to spread the message.
I’m not sure how much it would help, but I know (at least in my city) animal shelters are overcrowded to the point they have to euthanize and I imagine that’s at least partly due to free roaming pets mating with strays/neighbor’s pets and the owners not being able to take care of the resulting litter.
Others have said it’s traditional and has been said for a long time, it’s why it’s not a big problem, because of the reminder. I’d love for you to remember that the next time you hear someone say something along the lines of oh I don’t know “why should I vaccinate my kids against measles/polio/etc, those diseases barely exist anymore”.
its more like the people that typically watch the price is right are more likely to need reminding/convincing to spay/neuter their animals
(by that i mean lower to middle class suburban households)
No. But before it was common to spay and neuter pets, the host of the show would say it, as the he was a great friend to animal shelters and a vegetarian. He started doing this in the late 70s or early 80s.
Over the years it just became a refrain and tradition on the show.
Cats definitely are
There are 129 million households in the United States and 70 million homeless cats and dogs, so in addition to what other people have said about it carrying on the tradition, it is still a significant issue.
the shelters in my city won’t even accept any more strays
Yes!! Especially in the south. I volunteer in rescue and we get tons of animals shipped or flown to us weekly.
Illiteracy, poverty and crappy laws are the death of animals in backwards rural areas. 😡
And also yes, the pet population here is ridiculous and most people don’t know or care.
Absolutely.
Yes, it really is that horrible. I work in rescue and only 1 dog out of 10 in America will find a home. The rest get euthanized. The South has such a bad problem with stray and unwanted dogs, that they ship them up to the North East. I’ve fostered over 35 dogs and found them homes. The puppy pipeline from the South just keeps sending up dog after dog – it never stops. The Amish here run the biggest puppy mill farms and a lot of them are inbred and diseased. I have one that someone bought from the Amish and the poor thing has so many defects. Misaligned jaw, eyes, bowed legs, allergies, rage disorder etc. It really is huge problem in the US.
Yes, animal shelters around here are always full.
One visit to an animal shelter should tell you what you need to know
Yes.
Yes. It has been for decades. But also, that’s just the end of the show.
Please don’t stop people from recommending spaying and neutering. Yes it’s a problem and if you aren’t aware there are many people who will catch strays and have them spayed or neutered to help keep the population down. I encourage you to help or donate to organizations that support these endeavors ASPCA, Human Society, Best friends Animal society, Spay USA and Alley Cat allies, these are nationwide but every state and county have these organizations at a local level where you can help or assist
Short answer, yes. Longer answer, it just takes a few unfixed pets to send the number of strays through the roof. Cats can have litters of up to eight kittens and cats hit sexual maturity at just six months old at most.
Big cities often have trap-neuter-release programs where they don’t try to eliminate stray cats, just keep the population stable. Where I live, they banned pet stores from selling kittens and puppies because when kittens and puppies don’t sell, stores dump them (unfixed) on the street and breed more, because kittens and puppies sell better than adult cats and dogs. The pet stores have to partner with shelters and get a cut of the sales, but can’t sell from breeders or run their own kitten and puppy mills.
Yes. Here are statistics from 2023. https://www.shelteranimalscount.org/stats
2024 figures are still being compiled, but here is a rough outline: https://www.shelteranimalscount.org/state-level-data/
Spay/neuter is the kindest thing you can do for your pet.
It was just an issue Bob Barker was passionate about and Carey is continuing the tradition. But also, yes.
It’s not about the pet population. It’s to control the feral population.
Visit a local animal shelter and find out why.
Yes, there’s loads of people that can’t be bothered to get their dog spayed or neutered after their dog has had multiple litters of accidental puppies.
I work for animal control in the Southern US, just dealing with cats and dogs though, and it’s absolutely an issue down here at least.
Yes, after living in a low income area for years you wouldn’t believe how many stray dogs and cats you see on the regular. I’ve seen it being a mix between people not getting their pets fixed to avoid unwanted pregnancies, and people getting rid of their pets when they don’t know how to deal with them.
It was so out of control that Bob Barker started saying it in the 70s.
It’s beyond out of control now. Kill and no kill shelters are full, people are dumping dogs and letting pets breed.
No, the pet population is not under control. Thousands of animals are euthanized annually. Feral cats are an invasive species.
Yes have you lived in the south? Texas, Mississippi, Florida? Houston has a serious problem it’s like a 3rd world country there I’m not exaggerating I lived there and found my former pet on the street while living there. Got my new dog from Mississippi she was living on the streets. Because people don’t do what they should the animals run wild and reproduce and it’s like the Philippines but in America. If you ever want a dog or cat feel free to spend a couple days in Houston and you’ll find one for free
It’s like people don’t do what they should for their pets. I only hear stories of people dumping pets and stuff like that down south it’s like a culture just like not spaying or neutering your pets. I live in DC area and that kind of mindset would never be tolerated here
Yes, there are a lot of areas where the animal shelters are full. I have heard that some shelters kill any animals there for longer than 48 hours to make space.
He carried on the Bob Barker tradition, which was well before internet or social media – it was a great way to get a message out
Yes. Cats have decimated the native species of the land. Birds and small mammals to be specific
Right it would be so much better if he pushed for abortion clinics for dogs, funded by taxpayers, like planned Parenthood, than just promoting common sense pet ownership.
I live in Minnesota where winters get very cold and usually last a long time. It’s normal for the air temperature to not get above freezing for months at a time. We don’t have much of a stray dog problem because of this, but we still manage to have a good number of feral cats! They must just be better at finding a warm place to hide.
Anyway, given that fact, we actually have a good number of animal rescue agencies whose sole function is fetching dogs from over full shelters in southern states and bringing them up to Minnesota where families are willing to adopt them.
He’s continuing a long standing tradition started by the original host, Bob Barker
Yep
No, BUT I can tell you that when I lived in rural Polk County TX (2 hours north of Houston), TWO litters of pups were dumped in the woods behind my house, and the house itself sort of “came with” a feral dog who along with her littermates and mother was locked in the house’s shed and abandoned by the previous residents. My own Ike was a rescue, destined to be a bait dog.
People are outrageously irresponsible.
i will say I’ve noticed more questions on here about whether to spay/neuter/vaccinate their animals, so it’s possible this old saying from the show is just coming into vogue again
Yes. You’d be surprised how many people in the US don’t do it because they feel like it ruins their pet.
Ricky Bobby tried to tell everyone about this problem
Go visit a shelter and see how many they have to put down every year. Especially the older ones no one will adopt.
He inherited that from the old host, Bob Barker.
Depends on your definition of “out of control pet population” but yes it was absolutely necessary. Unless you’re breeding your pets for whatever reason, you should get them fixed. Literally go watch Jackson Galaxy or his show “My Cat From Hell” as he talks about this topic occasionally. It’s very irresponsible and could be dangerous for everyone involved
That’s the only thing keeping it at bay. As soon as he stops reminding us we will be overrun.
Yes. Last I checked it was around a million dogs and cats that get euthanized each year because we have too many. Nearly all of them are in states that don’t promote spay and neuter programs.