Background of the Spay/Neuter Assistance Bill

In Washington, State Senate Bill 5329 and House Bill 1406 were introduced in the 2009 legislative session to provide a statewide spay/neuter assistance program. However, the bill did not pass during the 2009 or 2010 legislative sessions. For that reason, a new bill was prepared for the 2011 legislative session.

The goal of the bill is to help fund 60,000 or more spay/neuter surgeries each year on cats and dogs belonging to low-income residents of our state, and on feral and free-roaming cats. The bill does not make spay/neuter surgery mandatory. 

The program would be funded by a fee on pet food distributed in Washington State. The fee would not be assessed or collected at the retail level, meaning there is no burden placed on retailers. The direct cost impact of the pet food fee to support spay/neuter surgery would be minimal, about two and a half cents per pound of cat or dog food, and would help support the costs of performing tens of thousands of additional spay/neuter surgeries each year.

If you need assistance or have any questions, please email Rick Hall or Andrea Logan.