The Spay and Neuter Improvements for Pets Act, or “SNIP ACT” (AB 2010), will help to seriously address the pet overpopulation crisis in California. AB 2010 expands access to high-quality, high-volume spay and neuter services for California pet owners and shelters.
The SNIP Act will also allow the use of Mobile Animal Sterilization Hospital clinics, or (MASH) clinics. For years, rising costs and a veterinary workforce shortage has left California veterinarians unable to perform enough spay and neuter surgeries, leading to overcrowded shelters and stray dogs and cats in our streets. While veterinarians have developed more advanced techniques for these surgeries, current California law limits the use of those procedures.
The crisis is even worse in rural regions throughout the Central Valley, where access to spay and neuter services may be hours away, and unaffordable for many communities. For too long, veterinary clinics have been inundated with high demand for spay and neuter services. AB 2010 provides a solution that will address this crisis.
To quickly and efficiently alleviate the overcrowded animal shelters, address the large numbers of pets on the streets, and help Californians who cannot access affordable spay-neuter services, AB 2010 will remove unnecessary barriers, while adopting more efficient spay and neuter practices.
AB 2010 will do this by specifying that high-quality, high-volume services do not require a dedicated surgical suite, while still maintaining the applicability of all other health and safety standards.
The SNIP Act will also allow the use of MASH clinics, which can bring traveling high-quality, high-volume spay and neuter operations that can set up in community buildings to underserved and rural areas.
"MASH clinics will significantly increase the number of sterilization surgeries that can be done in every part of the state, allowing for more animals to be adopted from shelters, reducing euthanasia and preventing unwanted births," said San Francisco SPCA CEO, Dr. Jennifer Scarlett. "With California experiencing an access-to-veterinary-care crisis, we have to think innovatively about how we can most effectively and efficiently reduce the overpopulation problem. AB 2010 does exactly that, and we want to thank Assemblywoman Soria for championing this legislation.”
Every year, tens of thousands of healthy cats and dogs are euthanized primarily because there are simply too many for the state’s shelters to hold.
“California is facing a growing animal welfare crisis, and we need solutions grounded in science," said Dr. Gary Weitzman, President and CEO, San Diego Humane Society. "Mobile, high-quality, high-volume spay and neuter clinics have a proven track record of safely serving far more animals than traditional models, especially in communities that lack access to care. Allowing MASH units to operate will prevent thousands of animals from entering shelters, reduce strain on families and animal services, and save lives. Assemblywoman Soria’s AB 2010 is smart, humane policy, and it meets the scale of the challenge before us.”
