Responsible Pet Owners Alliance - not quite what it seems to be

You’d think a group called Responsible Pet Owners Alliance would be about responsible pet ownership, right? Not so much, according to this statement below, from the Texas Humane Legislation Network and HSUS. Please be aware of the RPOA’s real agenda!

Responsible Pet Owners Alliance (RPOA) is a front group for commercial dog and cat breeding facilities and consistently fights any legislation or proposed city ordinances that would implement spay/neuter programs or regulate large-scale commercial breeding operations in any way.  

RPOA argues that any restrictions on commercial breeding could actually result in a shortage of dogs and cats.  Who are they kidding?  More than 700,000 companion animals were destroyed in animal control facilities and humane societies in Texas last year alone simply because there were no homes for them.  Meanwhile, commercial breeders continue to flood the pet market with thousands more puppies and kittens, exacerbating the pet overpopulation problem even more.  With no measures taken, there is little chance that we can even reduce the euthanasia numbers in our Texas shelters, let alone move toward no-kill city-run facilities for decades to come. 

RPOA is part of the problem, not part of the solution.  They are fighting to keep the floodgates of pet overpopulation open while animal welfare agencies and animal control officers try in vain to control the rising tides.

RPOA members frequently malign legitimate animal protection organizations such as the Texas Humane Legislation Network (THLN), The Humane Society of the United States (The HSUS) and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), alleging them to be “animal rights extremists,” and peddling an assortment of urban myths in an attempt to destroy the reputations of those who are effectively exposing RPOA for what they are. Please know that RPOA's baseless allegations and fear-mongering tactics are motivated by the financial greed of the puppy mill and pet trade industry.

In truth, Texas Humane Legislation Network (THLN), the HSUS and the ASPCA are mainstream organizations whose efforts to protect animals from cruelty are supported by law enforcement officials and criminal prosecutors throughout the state. 

Another frequent RPOA talking point alleges that The HSUS wants to “end pet ownership” and “cause the extinction of animals.”  Puppy millers, cockfighters, dogfighters, canned hunters and other animal abusers use this same false accusation repeatedly as an attempt to deflect attention from their own actions.  The HSUS's long history of promoting humane care for our animal companions -- as well as celebrating the joy that they bring to our lives -- stands on its own merits.

That every companion animal should live a long and happy life in a good home is the true objective of the Texas Humane Legislation Network, The HSUS and the ASPCA.