The City of Natchez is considering a new animal control ordinance that would require residents to have the pets spayed and/or neutered or pay an annual $150 fee per unaltered pet.

Most responsible pet owners have been having their pets spayed and/or neutered for years.

Unfortunately, many irresponsible pet owners have not.

In Natchez, we have a large feral cat problem, partly due to the irresponsibility of pet owners over the years.

Now, volunteers take it upon themselves to trap the feral cats and have them spayed and neutered through the Mississippi feral cat program.

That is only a small relief to the problem of the unwanted pet population that is growing rapidly.

The unwanted pet population puts a strain on the Humane Society and the public shelter.

Still other volunteer organizations work constantly to transport the unwanted animals to other parts of the nation that have smaller unwanted pet populations where they are more likely to be adopted.

If pet owners won’t do what is right and spay and/or neuter their pets on their own, then they should be fined or otherwise penalized, and if they want to be responsible pet breeders, then they should be willing to pay for the privilege of being a responsible breeder.

The fee system will keep down the number of puppy mills and dog fighting breeders, we believe.

Therefore, we support the city of Natchez adopting the new animal ordinance to penalize pet owners who refuse to have the pets altered.