Owner fights dog castration policy
Peter Martin, a dog lover from Tetbury, is arguing against a decision made by Greyhound Rescue West of England to castrate the lurcher puppy he wishes to adopt.
Under the charity’s policy, nine-month-old Humbug should be castrated before adoption; however, Mr Martin disagrees with the decision and believes the dog should have a vasectomy instead.
Rachel Grocott, chief executive of the Somerset-based charity, explained their decision: "There is a huge problem in this country with there being too many dogs in need of good homes. We are a rescue, rehoming and welfare charity and we cannot possibly contribute to that problem.”
She continued: “The only way of ensuring we don't contribute to that problem is to castrate dogs to make sure that they cannot father puppies in the future.”
Mr Martin, who has owned lurchers for 18 years, believes that if the charity proceeds with the castration it will affect the way other dogs relate to Humbug and the way he relates to other dogs. In addition, he deems it unfair to mutilate animals on ideological grounds pretending that it is something to do with medical grounds.
In the hope of adopting Humbug, Mr Martin has proposed a compromise: "I've made them an offer which they haven't responded to, to let us have Humbug intact for four months, until an inspection, and if he has turned into an aggressive sexual predator with testicular cancer by then, then fine, they can castrate him.”
Robin Hargreaves, president-elect for the British Veterinary Association, commented on the matter: "Population control is the main reason that many rehoming charities have a castration policy. A vasectomy is likely to be a more expensive procedure and less reliable than castration."
Despite this, BVA believe there is "merit in both arguments".
Two independent vets have launched a podcast to help owners strengthen their bond with pets. Dr Maggie Roberts and Dr Vanessa Howie, who have worked in both veterinary practice and major charities, are keen to use their experience to enable people to give pets a better life.
