Friday, June 05, 2009

Darren the Waving Goat,and SB250

Children visiting White Post Farm in Farnsfield near Nottingham often wave good-bye, so a friendly Anglo-Nubian goat named Darren learned to stand on his hind legs and wave back. He was featured on "Animals Do The Funniest Things" and he's fast becoming an internet superstar. Here's a short video.






And while you're smiling, we'd like to comment on a controversial subject -- Senate Bill 250, an attempt to pass a law requiring mandatory spay/neuter of cats and dogs in California. We don't live in California, but we do have an opinion on the subject.

Just today we read two blog posts with opposing views. Surprisingly, the one rooting for the bill to pass moderates comments. We left a polite comment that we disagree, with a very short explanation, and although the blog has been updated and another comment added, our comment has disappeared. So we're going to touch on the subject. It's okay to disagree. We won't delete polite comments.

We strongly believe spay/neuter should be voluntary. Jan volunteered all of us, and she would like to see more folks spay/neuter their pets. It isn't that we don't understand the millions of animals being killed (euthanized is too kind a word) in shelters each year. Jan used to photograph some shelter dogs and cats, knowing most every one would leave the shelter in a body bag. She knows how hard it is to convince humans to change their perspective toward animals, but she volunteers with the local Humane Society (not the shelter) to help educate and promote voluntary spay/neuter. And like Jan, we do not believe that mandatory spay/neuter will solve the shelter euthanasia population.

In the last months, we have read a number of articles stating mandatory spay/neuter does not work, but unfortunately, we don't remember who wrote them and we don't have time to search for them at the moment.

(Buddy, Mercy & Sam: Jan injured her ankle last night while we were walking her. No, we are not responsible. We got caught in a storm and Jan wanted to hurry back. She stepped up on a curb that was broken but appeared solid. It wasn't -- well, it wasn't in the one spot she picked. Broken concrete shifted and with all her weight on it, rolled her ankle. She nearly took us all down but we kept her upright long enough to get thoroughly drenched. And then it was a long, sloooooooooow walk home. She can't sit at the computer long today, so while she rests, we're typing before we get kicked off again.)

To quote from the ASPCA statement: "To the knowledge of the ASPCA, the only method of population control that has demonstrated long-term efficacy in significantly reducing the number of animals entering animal shelters is the voluntary sterilization of owned pets. .... There is also evidence that sterilizing very specific, at-risk sub-populations of companion animals such as feral cats and animals in shelters can also contribute to reductions in overpopulation. .... In contrast, the ASPCA is not aware of any credible evidence demonstrating a statistically significant enhancement in the reduction of shelter intake or euthanasia as a result of the implementation of a mandatory spay/neuter law."

So we're just going to refer you to this one article by the ASPCA, "Position Statement on Mandatory Spay/Neuter Laws."

Now, we have to run. Jan is grumpy and we need to go sit on her foot so she'll really have something to yell about.

41 comments:

  1. HI everyone at the Funny Farm,

    I wanted to come by and thank you so much for your kind words and thoughts when we lost Sally. We at the Museum have been so grateful. Hope your summer has a happy start.

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  2. I think Darren is related to the cheese Winey Goat and Drunken Goat!

    As for the mandatory part...how about we make it mandatory fur the hoomans too?

    Hugz&Khysses,
    Khyra

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  3. That is a funny video! Thanks for sharing!

    We live in California! We have opinion too... I think it is wrong to make it mandatory!

    By the way we were all of us spay or neutered practically the day we became part of this family!

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  4. That's cute Jan! Well, I would agree on the spay/neuter part if only there won't be "terms & conditons" as to clip off some part of the ears. :(

    Please do drop in my blog to help me in a proper advertisement for a better cause. :)

    http://crizcats.blogspot.com/

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  5. First we are very sorry about Jan's ankle, we hopes it mends soon. We are sending healing purrs and puppy licks and wishes that it doesn't hurt.

    Secondly we agree 100% with you. Spay/neuter should be voluntary and education and low cost spay/neuter programs is the key to getting more owners to spay/neuter their pets. ~S,S,C & F

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  6. The more people understand about voluntary vs. mandatory s/n, the more they are against these kind of laws. Thanks for spreading the word.

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  7. Oh no! I hope Jan is OK! That sounds like something our mom would do! Owie!!!
    That goat is VERY talented!
    We (who are all spayed and neutered) find that "mandatory" restrictions like that usually only work for people who do the responsible thing anyway. If that makes sense.
    Love,
    Ammy

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  8. Darren is hysterical! Hi, Darren!

    'Mandatory' seldom works for anything. There are always people who will find a way to beat the system.

    We hope your ankle isn't too painful, Jan.

    And yes, we've moved to WordPress!

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  9. Cute video. And we agree, it should not be mandatory anywhere. We are all neutered but there are valid reasons for leaving it voluntary.

    Woos, the OP Pack

    Pee Ess, Mom controls the leads and so we couldn't go after those squirrels. We were lucky enough to just snag a pic and give them a good wooing at.

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  10. That Darren, what a laugh, than you! Sorry bout Mom's ankle, look after her.

    Wiry wagsn kissies Eric xxx

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  11. hehe, we like Darren the Waving Goat!

    And we Ballicai and our momma kompletely agree with you about the mandatory part. It should be voluntary, and as othurs have pointed out, there should be low-cost programs to help out the beans -- but "mandatory"? No!

    Kittyhugs and purrs from MaoMao!

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  12. Darren the waving goat is great. I agree with you. Spay/neuter should be voluntary. Make anything mandatory and there are contrary people who will flaunt the law just because they can. I think that low-cost spay/neuter clinics should be encouraged and shelters should encourage adopters to spay and neuter, but it should always be the owner's choice.

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  13. Thank you for your kind words. I am a worrier, but I can't stay worried for too long; it's too exhausting. My limerick for Oscar has been posted.

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  14. That goat is too cute! We agree. mandatory never works for anything.. Love A+A

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  15. I must agree that mandatory spaying and neutering is beyond the scope of reasonable measures towards controlling unwanted animal populations. I myself had 5 litters before undergoing the surgery, and I wouldn't change a thing! All of my kittens went to loving homes. Khyra has a good point.......there are many of the human species who should not be parents, why not legislate mandatory tubal ligations and vasectomies for child abusers?

    Sincerely, Leia

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  16. We love goats!!!!!
    thanks for the heads up on the legislation. It will be interesting to see what comes of it.

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  17. Oh, Willow and I were laughing at the funny goat waving!

    We don't think that spay/neuter should be mandatory either. We hope that more people will be responsible and do the right thing.

    Purrrrrrs, China Cat

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  18. What a funny goat! Don't worry, the dogs in my backyard didn't really ruin my day. The thunder was scary however and it was way louder than the dogs!

    Purrrrrrrrrs, Willow

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  19. I loved the video.

    And, I agree with not making it mandatory. If you did, which wouldn't work, you'd have to set up a government bureaucracy to track and enforce it. Forget it.

    I hope Jan's feeling better now.

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  20. That's a good laugh. I don't live in California, but we did just Spay Africa. It wasn't cheap, but we are glad to do our part.I feel like responsible owners should be helped out a little.

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  21. Hi guys -

    First, that is the cutest video - thanks so much for sharing it!

    As for the spay/neuter laws, we think things always work best when people voluntarily want to do something. Even though we believe that most dogs/cats SHOULD be spayed and that it would help with the homeless/abandoned situation, we think it is better to educate people on why this is so - rather than just forcing them.
    But most of all, we think it is very small-minded of that other blog to delete comments just because they don't agree with them!

    Slobbers,
    Honey the Great Dane

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  22. Darren is a very cute goat! Jan, we hope that your foot is better today!

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  23. What a cute goat!

    Jan, mom and I hope your foot is okay. Mom knows how it feels to be off of your feet and them hurting.

    About the mandatory spay and neutering that is happening in California, we agree it should be voluntary with some assistance to encourage responsible owners to do so. Mandatory will only punish the responsible owners, not those who breed in the back yard.

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  24. To all,
    Thanks for stopping by our neglected blog and seeing if we were ok. We are, and we blogged today!

    We think it is rude to delete polite comments and are sorry to hear that it happened to you. Whatever decision people make, they should be well-informed, not clobbered over the head with only one side of the story.

    Purrs,
    Abby & Stygia

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  25. Forcing people to do something never really works. Education to make them understand why they might want to do something works a whole lot better!!!
    Sorry to hear about Jan's ankle, we are sending purrs for her to get better! And we are also sorry we didn't catch her post about the wonderful cat shelter on the hill - it would be so nice if there were lots more of those!
    Last but not least:
    It was NOT the same rat that was released when the gingers all followed. Statistically speaking the butler averages about 2 to 3 rats a week that he catches and we average about 1 to 2.
    I know. It doesn't make sense as WE are the cats.....but he has the advantage of peanut butter!
    One rat actually once died of a heart attack in the trap because Notty got out and to it before the butler. He felt very bad about it. The butler, not Notty....

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  26. I spay and neuter. I spay and neuter purebred dogs. I do no believe leaving it possible for any of my animals to contribute to the mess we have now in animal welfare.

    I believe it should be mandatory, period. If you give people the choice it is the irresponsible ones who chose to leave their pets intact (on the whole but not always).

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  27. Sometimes you have to tell people how to be responsible...and sometimes you must force them to do the right thing. By the way, Skeezix is a male.

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  28. For some reason the video did not come up on our computer, so we didn't get to see it. Actually, the pictures of the different sites that comment aren't coming up either any more. Guess Mom has to contact blogger. Anyhow, we agree with you on the mandatory spay and neuter bill proposed for California and we live in California. Where would all the cute puppies and kitties be??? I don't know people are just either lazy or just don't care about their animals when they don't spay or neuter them. We have help here that pays for some of the spaying and neutering. Mom used it when she had Cleo spayed, only had to pay five bucks. People don't even try to find out things they just say they can't afford it. The rest of us poody tats were volunteered to be spayed and neutered as soon as it was possible. I liked what Khyra said, some humans need to do it too. LOL. Gosh sure hope your Mom's foot is getting all better. Take care Jan.

    Casper

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  29. No on mandatory spay nueter!
    All ours are fixed but its our choice. Also many cities like Los Angelos has made it illegal to have more than 4 pets (dogs, cats in any combination). Its soooo wrong.

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  30. ha ha ha that goat cracks me up! Sorry about Jan's ankle. Perhaps she can go to the nice Air Conditioned island with my mommy...or, we could go to the island and leave them at home until they are not crabby anymore.

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  31. That goat is very funny.
    Hope Jan's ankle is better.

    Mommy just a report on Ray and he is doing well and being taken care of by one of the best Vet office's DROH uses. Harris County is investigating the case and have a suspect. He should be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

    {{{Huggies}}} to all...Mona

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  32. We unnerstand that kitties and woofies should be spayed and nuetered.

    But The Big Thing laffs when he reads stuff like that. He says if all kitties and woofies were spayed an neutered, that there wouldnt be any more of us after a while.

    So he says those people should be careful what they demand cause it makes them look stoopid.

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  33. Jan...we wanted to check and see how your footsie is doing? We hope that you are feeling better!

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  34. I'm with Khyra! We should make this mandatory for the humans too! Aren't there too many of THEM??

    BTW, I am new to your bloggie. Are there really that many doggies and kitties on your farm?? Whew. My G-Mom can barely handle me and Midget!

    Thanks for stopping by.
    Rambo the chi

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  35. LOL... that goat is too funny.

    We hope Jan's ankle heals soon, it sounds painful.

    Have a great weekend.

    Holly & Zac...XX

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  36. Hope you all are fine and well at your place. Love to all!

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  37. Great video, thanks for sharing it !
    --JB

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  38. Darren is so cute. We don't really agree with mandatory spay/neuter either. it seems if a lot of people won't do it now making it mandatory wouldn't help much.

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  39. Hey, the video came up this visit. Darren was really cute.

    Casper

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  40. Furry Friends1/12/2010 9:09 PM

    Hi All From 13 UK Cats & The Food & Cuddles Person.

    Many local councils here help by giving vouchers for free spaying and neutering here - don't know if you have that in the usa. Its only for poor folks but does help I think. Making it compulsory is not the answer - compulsion never is.

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