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18 <br />continue to be a significant segment of dogs and cats that are not registered with the <br />County or vaccinated against rabies. <br />An increase in licensing compliance can be expected to generate significant fund <br />amounts of income for the County's Community Spay/Neuter Fund as well as the <br />County's General Fund. Each unregistered pet owner will generate $5 or $10 to the <br />General Fund, regardless of spay/neuter status.. Licenses for those animals that are <br />intact will also generate an additional $20 to the Community Spay/Neuter Fund. If we <br />assume that the proportion of intact to sterilized pets is the same among unregistered <br />animals (and this would appear to be a quite conservative assumption), there would still <br />be upwards of an additional $25,000 to $30,000 to collect from the licensing differential <br />for intact animals. <br />This means that annual income to the Community Spay/Neuter Fund could be <br />increased between 50 and 100 percent on the basis of more deliberate and effective <br />forms of follow-up on licensing notices. The additional funds could cover the projected <br />costs of achieving targeted sterilization to the range of 6 per 1000 residents on the basis <br />of organized programs. In other words, under the current financial arrangement with the <br />$20 Fix ($75), the targeted number of 600 sterilizations could be covered by fees <br />associated with increased compliance with the licensing requirement. <br />Increasing funds available for the Community Spay/Neuter Fund is only one reason to <br />increase licensing compliance. Another is fairness. It is only equitable that all pet <br />owners in Orange County license their cats and dogs. For some to do so while others <br />do not is unfair, and ultimately it is for this reason that effective follow-up on pet <br />licensing is a legitimate endeavor. <br />Differential pet licensing is good public policy. tt assigns a greater share of the financial <br />burden for animal care and control programs to owners whose pets most contribute to <br />pet overpopulation and other problems commonly associated with intact animals. It also <br />provides these very same pet owners with a financial incentive "to do the right thing" by <br />spaying or neutering their cat or dog. Thus, differential pet licensing- is a cornerstone of <br />progressive animal care and control programs, and in some jurisdictions the fee <br />differential for reproductive pets is much greater. <br />C. Targeted Donations <br />Donations to the County's Spay/Neuter Fund could prove to be an important source of <br />support for this plan now and in the future. Historically, residents have given <br />significantly to Animal Services, and they have done so in the absence of even passive <br />giving targets. Accordingly, there is good reason to believe that they would be willing to <br />donate to a progressive program for "targeted spaying and neutering." <br />In this regard, it should be mentioned that the County's pet registration program affords <br />an excellent opportunity for concerned pet owners to contribute financially to the <br />County's effort to prevent pet overpopulation. A so-called Chickadee check-off in <br />16 <br />