Pet peeves

The article by Craig Segal ["Dead pets' society," Feb. 3] chronicling the mass euthanasia of hundreds of thousands of abandoned or unclaimed pets in our city pounds every year was very poignant and well-written.

On this subject, I fully concur with Shloime Perel ["No-kill pound," Letters, Feb. 10], who states that all Montreal-area SPCAs should adopt a humane, no-kill policy.

However, besides the SPCAs, the public is also to blame in significant part for this tragedy. We have no bylaws forcing pet owners to spay or neuter their cats and dogs. Such bylaws, which have been adopted in certain Vancouver-area municipalities and other cities, help to diminish the pet overpopulation problem.

Also, why do many pet owners apply the pervasive throwaway mentality to pets, which are sentient creatures and are not supposed to be used as toys for one's pleasure, and then thrown out at the slightest inconvenience? Buying a pet is a commitment, not just a frill.

It is inexcusable to transfer the slave mentality from humans to animals. When people buy pets, they should keep them until death does them part, barring a few exceptional cases. At the very least they should have in mind a friend, associate or relative who would be willing to adopt their pets should they be unable to keep them.

To quote Alice Walker: "The animals of the world exist for their own reasons. They were not made for humans any more than black people were made for white, or women created for men.''

Put simply, owning pets is a cruel idea unless one is willing to invest love, time and commitment in them.

--Manish Patwari

The lack of concern of elected officials at the municipal level is partly to blame for the high rate of unwanted pets and euthanasia in Quebec. In Montreal and Quebec City, there is only one fee for a dog permit, whether or not your dog has been spayed or neutered. Dog owners have no financial incentive to have their pets fixed.

Other cities, including Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, San Francisco, Boston and New York, have reduced dog license fees for owners with a veterinary-signed certificate that their pets cannot procreate.

I think Montrealers could cope with an increased permit fee (paying attention now, Mr. Mayor?) for unaltered pets and a reduced fee for pets that have been spayed or neutered. This would only be a small, simple legislative change, but change is urgently needed in the bylaws regarding animals.

Go for it, Bourque!

--Jan Hermiston

Canadians lose the foodfight

Since the controversy about genetically altered foods, people want the government to perform further tests to ensure that these foods are indeed safe for long-term consumption ["To label, or not to label?" Jan. 20].

Well, let me reassure you that this will not be done. In fact, we are the test subjects--if we start dying off like flies in a decade or two then maybe the government might fund one of their famous studies that cost millions of dollars. And after that has come and gone, someone will come forth and state, "Yes, we have found in certain instances that some of the foods that are genetically altered do pose an immediate risk to certain people." In my terms, this means yes we fucked up again and we probably will fuck up again and again and again.

Since most Canadians are so goddamn busy taking their slice of the pie, the government sees this as a ripe opportunity to shove whatever it sees fit right down our throats. First let's get a prime minister who has an idea of what is actually happening in Canada. Our next prime minister should be someone from our working class, not an already-greedy ex-lawyer who sees nothing but profit in a job.

--"Franky"

Penetrating porn

The next time you run a story about porn, have it written by someone who doesn't get "uncomfortable" at the mere mention of triple penetration ["Cream dreams," Feb. 10]. At least the reporter should have the guts to watch one triple-X sex act before writing about it. Next time ask Sasha to do the story.

--Sebastien Gregoire