Pet Overpopulation Essay

If an area in Pasco County is affected by pet overpopulation, then faeces waste produced by the pets will lead to increased nitrogen concentration in the soil and fecal coliform contaimination in nearby aquatic ecosystems. Pet overpopulation is common due to people not neutering their animals, causing them to reproduce and overcrowd areas. People also do not want their animals, so they just hand them to the shelter and hope they get adopted, but that happens frequently, so many people doing that will cause shelters to become overwhelmed with animals. Adding to that, people find animals on the streets and bring them in because they can not help them, so this adds to overpopulated shelters. This leads to costly euthanasia. Pet overpopulation can damage an environment in
EPA even estimates that two or three days’ worth of droppings from a population of about 100 dogs would contribute enough bacteria to temporarily close a bay, and all watershed areas within 20 miles of it, to swimming and shellfishing. When pet waste is washed into lakes or streams the waste decays, using up oxygen and sometimes releasing ammonia. Low oxygen levels and ammonia combined with warm temperatures can kill fish. (Epa)Pet waste is also often a major contributor to fecal coliform populations, which are bacteria that is the most common microbiological contaminants of natural waters. Millions of these naturally occurring organisms are passed out of the body with fecal wastes. If pathogenic (disease-causing) organisms are present, they may be passed as well. When a stream is polluted by fecal material, pathogenic bacteria, viruses, and parasites may be introduced, posing a health hazard to those who come in contact with the