Welfare Impacts of Spay/Neuter-Focused Outreach on Companion Animals in New York City Public Housing

ABSTRACT

Spay/neuter (S/N) programs aim to reduce shelter intake and euthanasia. However, there is little published evidence of a causal effect between S/N programs and shelter intake or euthanasia. To uncover any ancillary effects of S/N, this study examined the impact of S/N door-to-door outreach on welfare-related outcomes and attitudes around S/N in underserved areas of New York City. There was no significant difference between a group receiving intensive outreach and a comparison group on whether they had rehomed a companion animal in the last year. There was a significantly higher level of saturation of S/N in the intensive-outreach area. A significantly higher percentage of those in the intensive-outreach group reported knowing at least 1 way to get help for their companion animals and that the caregiver-defined general well being of nonhuman animals in their neighborhood was better during the previous year. These data suggest that intensive S/N outreach has an impact on the level of saturation of S/N, the perceived efficacy of caregivers to find help if needed, and the perception that animal welfare is being improved.

KEYWORDS:

• Spay/neuter
• outreach
• dogs
• cats
• animal shelter

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to express gratitude for the assistance of the survey team who conducted the door-to-door interviews. The authors would also like to thank Jamie Scotto, Jocelyn Kessler, and Aimee Christian from the Community Medicine Department and Greg Miller and Erin Galloway from the Research and Development Department for providing input and guidance on the development of this research project. Finally, the authors would like to thank the S/N outreach managers for providing services in these underserved areas.