Yes, there is an overpopulation in dog shelters, but may be a snip too far that the SF Board of Supervisors will soon consider legislation mandating that all dogs in SF be spayed or neutered.

We let out quite a yap over when we saw this Tuesday report on KGO saying that an SF Board of Supervisors committee would consider requiring all dogs in SF to be spayed or neutered.  Seems extreme, do any other cities do this, or only overregulating schoolmarm San Francisco?

It turns out there are a few other US cities that require spaying and neutering dogs, and of course they're mostly California cities. Los Angeles County requires pets to be fixed by four months of age. San Jose and Long Beach also have mandatory spay and neuter laws.

Image: Board of Supervisors Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee

And yes, the matter will be discussed at this Thursday’s 10 am Board of Supervisors Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee meeting. That indicates that this matter will soon go before the full SF Board of Supervisors.

Currently, only pit bulls are required to be spayed or neutered in San Francisco.

If the law passed, those who did not get their dogs fixed could face fines, or even the loss of dogs.

Though there would be exemptions granted for dogs to be bred, though we don’t yet know those exemptions, as the proposed law is not yet fully written.

Related: SF Euthanizing Dogs at Highest Rate in 12 Years, Because of Shelter Overcrowding [SFist]

Image: Terrified little dog lying on the floor below bed. (Getty Images)