Stamp Out Pet Overpopulation

[Guest guest]

" Stamp Out " Pet Overpopulation

 

Please Forward!

Source-API(apiforanimals.org)

 

 

See 11/08/99 update

One means of solving the pet overpopulation problem is through education. A

commemorative stamp advocating spaying and neutering of companion animals

would be an ideal medium for educating the public as well as a possible

solution to this crisis. Representative Tom Lantos (D-CA) and Representative

Ben Gilman (R-NY) have cosponsored a bipartisan sign-on letter urging the

Postmaster General to issue a commemorative stamp advocating the spaying or

neutering of companion animals.

 

The proposed stamp would bear the message, " Stamp Out Pet Overpopulation.

Spay Or Neuter Your Pet " . It has been proposed that pertinent statistics be

placed on the back of the stamp, such as " In 7 years, one unspayed female

cat and her offspring could be the source of 370,000 cats. "

 

For this stamp to be picked as a commemorative stamp in the year 2000, 100

Representatives must sign the bipartisan sign-on letter by July 30, 1999.

Currently there are 40 signatures. We must act now! Please contact your U.S.

Representative today, by either phone, fax, or email, urging him/her to sign

the Gilman-Lantos Spay/Neuter stamp sign-on. (Check the list below to see if

your Representative has already signed on.)

 

Below are some points you can make in your letter:

 

Euthanasia is the single largest cause of death for dogs and cats in the

U.S. It is estimated that between five and ten million dogs, cats, puppies,

and kittens are euthanized each year in animal shelters across the country

because there are no available homes for these animals. Appallingly large as

it is, this figure does not include the animals that die as a result of

owner abandonment and other forms of human abuse and neglect.

Most of the animals who are euthanized are young and healthy, the majority

of them less than one year old.

Euthanizing the ten million dogs and cats each year costs an estimated $1

billion or more.

The exact cause of pet overpopulation is hard to determine. The

responsibility is shared by many groups. The source of the problem includes

accidental matings, breeding by those hoping to sell the offspring, and

personal reasons, such as the belief that it is unnatural to spay or neuter

an animal.

As of July 16, 1999 the following Representatives have signed the sign-on

letter. We need 60 more Representatives! If your Representative is not

listed, please contact him/her and urge your Representative to sign the

letter.

 

George Brown (D-CA)

Sam Farr (D-CA)

Tom Lantos (D-CA)

Barbara Lee (D-CA)

Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

Loretta Sanchez (D-CA)

Henry Waxman (D-CA)

John Larson (D-CT)

Chris Shays (R-CT)

John Lewis (D-GA)

Neil Abercrombie (D-HI)

Jerry Costello (D-IL)

Luis Gutierrez (D-IL)

Henry Hyde (R-IL)

Jesse L. Jackson (D-IL)

John Edward Porter (R-IL)

Michael Capuano (D-MA)

William Delahunt (D-MA)

Martin Meehan (D-MA)

Richard Neal (D-MA)

John Olver (D-MA)

John Tierney (D-MA)

Connie Morella (R-MD)

Carolyn Kilpatrick (D-MI)

Frank Pallone (D-NJ)

Donald Payne (D-NJ)

Steven Rothman (D-NJ)

Chris Smith (R-NJ)

Ben Gilman (R-NY)

Nita Lowey (D-NY)

Caroline Maloney (D-NY)

James Traficant (D-OH)

Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)

Darlene Hooley (D-OR)

David Wu (D-OR)

James Clyburn (D-SC)

John Tanner (D-TN)

Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX)

Virgil Goode (D-VA)

James Moran (D-VA)

To contact your Representative:

 

Call your Representative today (the name of your Representative can be found

at www.house.gov/writerep). The House switchboard is at (202) 224-3121.

Telephone and fax numbers of individual members of Congress can also be

reached by calling Federal Information at (800) 688-9889.

You may send an email message from the " Write Your Representative " House Web

site at www.house.gov/writerep. Not all House members use this email

service. For those who do not, contact your Representative by phone to

obtain his/her email address.

Fax a letter to your Representative.

Mail your letters to:

The Honorable [Full Name]

House Office Building

Washington, DC 20515

 

For more information contact Nicole Paquette at API.

 

 

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Update 11/08/99

Unfortunately, the U.S. Postal Service will not be issuing the " Stop Pet

Overpopulation, Spay or Neuter Your Pet " commemorative stamp in the 2000.

The U.S. Postal Service received an estimated 50 thousand requests for this

stamp. Thanks to all of you who called and wrote letters to your Senators

and Representative to sign on to the Gilman-Lantos sign-on letter.

 

The Gilman-Lantos letter was delivered to the Postmaster General on August

7, with 53 congressional signatures. Postal officials have yet to respond or

even comment on the letter.

 

The U.S. Postal Service selected the Warner Brothers cartoon characters Wile

E. Coyote and Road Runner as the commemorative stamp for 2000. The

spay/neuter stamp remains under consideration for future issuance, the same

status it has occupied since October 1998.

 

What You Can Do:

 

Call Azeezaly Jaffer, Acting Vice President of Communications and Public

Relations at the Postal Headquarters in Washington, DC at 202-268-2000.

Please remind Mr. Jaffer that the Spay/Neuter stamp passed the Citizens'

Stamp Advisory Committee in October 1998 and that you want to see the

Spay/Neuter message on a U.S. Stamp. Also, inform Mr. Jaffer that an

estimated five and ten million dogs, cats, puppies, and kittens are

euthanized each year in animal shelters across the country due to the lack

of available homes for these animals.

Write or fax Postmaster General, William J. Henderson and ask when he plans

to issue the Spay/Neuter stamp. Tell him that you, like many Americans, are

concerned about pet overpopulation and given the importance of this issue

you expect the message to be placed on a stamp. Contact the Postmaster at:

 

William J. Henderson

Postmaster General

United States Postal Service

475 L'Enfant Plaza, S.W.

Washington, DC 20260-2437

Fax 202-268-5211

 

Call your Senators and Representatives and ask that he/she call the Postal

Service to find out when the Spay/Neuter stamp will be issued. To find out

who your Representative is go to www.house.gov/write.rep. Also, to find out

who your Senators are go to www.senate.gov/senators/senator_by_state.cfm.

You can also call the Capital Switchboard at 202-224-3121.

For more information please contact Nicole Paquette at API.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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