LOS ANGELES – The ASPCA and other organizations are looking to lawmakers around the country to pass laws regulating anyone who cares for more than a few pets, claiming that even with the best intentions, individuals who are rescuing stray dogs and cats cannot provide the kind of environment necessary to care for numerous animals.
Every day, abandoned dogs and cats are euthanized in animal shelters and pounds across the country. Some animal lovers say that not enough is being done for these pets, and have taken matters into their own hands.
People like Bonita Berger are rescuing stray pets from the shelters and housing them until they can find the animals a home.
"I get a copy of the euthanasia list for the shelters every single day — there's hundreds and hundreds of dogs and cats on it, and a lot of them are being euthanized," Berger said.
But organizations like the ASPCA say that while they respect what these people are trying to do, they worry about the conditions the animals are kept in. ASPCA officials say that rescued animals are often left in less-than-desirable environments. They say that one must consider the quality of life of the animal, but critics counter that a living animal is better than one that has been killed.
The ASPCA says that the most important thing that can be done for a stray animal is to take it to a shelter where it can get scanned for a microchip in case someone out there is missing a member of their family.
Click in the box near the top of the story to watch a report by FOX News' Anita Vogel.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox