Animal Rights groups routinely use false and unsubstantiated allegations of animal abuse or non-existent problems to raise funds, attract media attention, and bring supporters into the movement.
An example of this is the continuing campaign against breeding of dogs due to an "overpopulation crisis". The public is told repeatedly never buy animals from pet stores or breeders -- with millions of animals dying in shelters, there is no reason for any animal to be bred --don't breed, don't buy while shelter animals die.
The real truth about animal abandonment is that it has dramatically decreased since 1973 and only a small portion of the total owned animal population are abandoned and euthanized.
Year Total Pet Population # Euthanized in Shelters *** % of Pet Population
1973* 65 million 13.5 million 21%
1982* 92 million 8-10 million 9-11%
1992* 110 million 5-6 million 5%
2000* 120 million 4-6 million 3-5%
2001* 141 million 4.4 million 3.12%
*From HSUS State of the Animals 2001
**American Pet Products Manufacturers Assoc. National Pet Owners Survey & Animal People Shelter Survey
***Shelters include owner requested euthanasia in their statistics which is not a part of abandoned animals euthanized.
According to HSUS State of the Animals 2001, "There was, however, general consensus among most animal related organizations that the term pet overpopulation was not only difficult to define, but that it was also probably no longer an accurate catchphrase to describe the reasons for animals leaving their original homes, especially for dogs."
Animal rights groups choose to ignore facts for the purpose of framing an overpopulation issue to their advantage in the public eye in order to raise sympathy dollars and convince legislators that anti-breeding legislation is required. Eventually facts and truth become irrelevant in the discussion and increasingly difficult to present to counter the anti-breeding campaign.