Mandate That Veterinarians Obtain Fully-Informed Written Consent From Animal Owners Before Performing Spay and Neuter Surgeries
Animal owners should have the opportunity to receive complete notice of the very serious risks of spay and neuter and to provide fully-informed consent before they have an animal spayed or neutered.
Animals are very close and dear to the hearts of their owners. Animal owners typically want their want their animals to live long, full, and healthy lives. Spay and neuter holds benefits for some animal owners, but the long-term effects of these major surgeries carry serious health risks for animals that can increase both the economic and emotional burden of caring for spayed and neutered animals. Animal owners may not necessarily know of these risks and the long-term burdens of care and cost. It is therefore critical that veterinarians obtain fully-informed written consent from animal owners before performing spay and neuter surgeries.
There are numerous researched and documented risks of spay and neuter available in peer-reviewed studies. Most of the risks from spaying and neutering are very serious, they reduce the utility of the animal and they raise the cost of caring for animal because of increased needs for non-routine veterinary care. Animal owners should have the opportunity to receive complete notice of these very serious risks and to provide fully-informed consent before they have an animal spayed or neutered.
Well-respected Laura J. Sanborn published a regularly-referenced paper that describes many health concerns with spay and neuter. She advocated that animal owners should know these risks before consenting to spay and neuter surgeries with support from the veterinary sciences community. ?More than 50 peer-reviewed papers were examined to assess the health impacts of spay / neuter in female and male dogs, respectively. One cannot ignore the findings of increased risk from osteosarcoma, hemangiosarcoma, hypothyroidism, and other less frequently occurring diseases associated with neutering male dogs. It would be irresponsible of the veterinary profession and the pet owning community to fail to weigh the relative costs and benefits of neutering on the animal?s health and well-being. The decision for females may be more complex, further emphasizing the need for individualized veterinary medical decisions, not standard operating procedures for all patients.? Larry S. Katz, PhD, Associate Professor and Chair, Animal Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ.[1]
The risks of spay and neuter include the list that follows.
* *Increases* in many forms of untreatable cancer that include a ?substantial? up to 5 times increase of cardiac tumors[2], 3.56 times increase in urinary bladder cancer[2], and up to 8 times increase in prostate cancer for dogs[3,4].
* Serious musculoskeletal issues that reduce mobility and contribute to dog and cat injuries.[5,6]
* Serious bone issues from spaying or neutering before growth plates have closed that lead to abnormal height, easy fractures, and aggravate various forms of dysplasia (poor alignment, pain, and deterioration of joints) for both dogs and cats.[7,8]
* Incontinence risk increases in mature females[9] and in males[10].
* Increased female-to-female aggression for some dogs.11
There are numerous researched and documented risks of spay and neuter available in peer-reviewed studies. Most of the risks from spaying and neutering are very serious, they reduce the utility of the animal and they raise the cost of caring for animal because of increased needs for non-routine veterinary care. Animal owners should have the opportunity to receive complete notice of these very serious risks and to provide fully-informed consent before they have an animal spayed or neutered.
Well-respected Laura J. Sanborn published a regularly-referenced paper that describes many health concerns with spay and neuter. She advocated that animal owners should know these risks before consenting to spay and neuter surgeries with support from the veterinary sciences community. ?More than 50 peer-reviewed papers were examined to assess the health impacts of spay / neuter in female and male dogs, respectively. One cannot ignore the findings of increased risk from osteosarcoma, hemangiosarcoma, hypothyroidism, and other less frequently occurring diseases associated with neutering male dogs. It would be irresponsible of the veterinary profession and the pet owning community to fail to weigh the relative costs and benefits of neutering on the animal?s health and well-being. The decision for females may be more complex, further emphasizing the need for individualized veterinary medical decisions, not standard operating procedures for all patients.? Larry S. Katz, PhD, Associate Professor and Chair, Animal Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ.[1]
The risks of spay and neuter include the list that follows.
* *Increases* in many forms of untreatable cancer that include a ?substantial? up to 5 times increase of cardiac tumors[2], 3.56 times increase in urinary bladder cancer[2], and up to 8 times increase in prostate cancer for dogs[3,4].
* Serious musculoskeletal issues that reduce mobility and contribute to dog and cat injuries.[5,6]
* Serious bone issues from spaying or neutering before growth plates have closed that lead to abnormal height, easy fractures, and aggravate various forms of dysplasia (poor alignment, pain, and deterioration of joints) for both dogs and cats.[7,8]
* Incontinence risk increases in mature females[9] and in males[10].
* Increased female-to-female aggression for some dogs.11
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