Overpopulation on the Navajo Reservation

By: Friday Group

Abstract
The problem we chose to focus on was, the overpopulation of animals on the Navajo
Reservation (horses, cats, and dogs). We read a variety of articles from several different
sources, all of which included the following: concerned travelers, natives not taking care of pets,
sanitation of the area, and increasing animal attacks. Other issues include: Promises from
Navajo leaders about vaccinating feral animals, and assisting in adoption of these animals. Not
to mention that spaying and neutering the animals will assist in the population control. These
are just a few of the concerns that the Navajo nation is trying to address. This is a daunting task
for the Reservation and its people. It will take lots of hard work, dedicated hours, volunteers,
and money. All of which seem to be limited because no one wants to acknowledge that there is
a problem, let alone spend money on it. But, there are several questions posed by the people in
these articles. Some of these include: Are the Navajos concerned about these animals, do they
care about them? If they do, then why are there so many feral pets? Some things that need
immediate action include, gaining control of the current animal population. One option is desexing the animals which prevents further growth. This will aide in the process of adoption.They
are working on some of these problems to bring change within the Reservation. There are
solutions out there, and they need to be addressed one at a time in order to create a better
environment for the people and the pets of the Navajo Nation.

Introduction
The Navajo Reservation has become a magnet for homeless pets. The Reservation has
an estimated 160,000 dog, cats, and horses roaming on their land and is continuing to grow
(Toth 2016). The natives, surrounding communities, and many rescue groups from around the
country are trying to take control of the population issue. By reducing the opportunity to
repopulate capturing as many of these animals as possible, they are slowly gaining control. The
overpopulation of dogs has created a very specific issue with dog bites on the Reservation.
There was a detailed analysis of the 772 dog bite reports made to determine the characteristics
of biters and their victims. This included an assessment of the behavioral antecedents leading
up to the bite incident; 98.4 percent of all cases for which a possible cause could be ascertained
were provoked in some way. Both dog control and public education measures need to be taken
to reduce the frequency of dog bites (Daniels 1986). There is a correlation between the pets that
have homes and those that remain homeless. Owners help to socialize their pets while biting is
still an issue, and not acceptable. Therefore it can be assumed that the homeless population is
the larger culprit of these biting incidents. Public safety has always been a concern, but since
1986 there has been a significant increase in canine biting. The biting is concerning because of
the pain and distress to the victims, however there is a larger concern. The bigger of the
concerns is if these dogs are carriers of disease that could be transmitted to the human
population. Since these animals are living off the land where they are scrounging for food, living
conditions are rapidly declining. The animals are sleeping and defecating anywhere, thus the
overall health of the animals is dreadful. Most of the animals are malnourished, sick , or
diseased. No one is taking responsibility for the health or well being of these animals and it is
likely to continue in a vicious cycle unless action is taken to prevent it.

Method

The Navajo leaders have been straining to produce the best way to regulate the
population. Many say we should sterilize all the feral animals, since that could possibly be the
simplest and most inexpensive way. In 2009, an article titled, A Cure for Euthanasia?
summarizes the ability to use a pill or vaccination to sterilize these animals. This would
drastically reduce the overpopulation. Though, because of funding, it has slowed the progress
and availability of this option. Unfortunately, as a result, millions of dogs and cats are
euthanized in U.S. shelters each year, and millions more are shot or poisoned around the
globe(Grimm 2009). This seems to be the logical solution but unfortunately because of the
funding it has not been able to be done. Others believe we should vaccinate the animals
preventing any transfer of diseases. This would allow for neuters and spays to take place while
the animals were in captivity. The largest disease needing to be vaccinated for in the area is
Rabies because rabies is responsible for an estimated 59,000 human deaths worldwide, and
domestic dogs are the primary reservoir and vector of the disease.(Bernesten 2016). The
Navajo community is not the only one fighting to reduce the population on their reservation. The
state of Utah is teaming with the Navajo leaders to capture and adopt as many as these pets as
possible. Someone callously trashed a box of 10 newborns during a frigid Montana winter.
Instead of freezing to death, the babiessome had not yet opened their eyeswere rescued by
RezQ Dogs, a volunteer rescue operation committed to helping the unwanted and abandoned
dogs from the Fort Belknap and Rocky Boy Indian reservations in north-central Montana
(Stachowski 2014). We have to know
that not only does it happen on the Navajo Reservation it is also happening on the indian
reservations in Montana. Coming together like Utah did with the Navajo reservations will help
either get the pets adopted or at least allow them to live out the rest of their days somewhere
else with the potential of getting adopted.

Results

If the public was educated about the problem they would understand how persistent and
difficult it is. This problem is becoming larger throughout the world, not only on the reservation.
From China to India the canine and feline population has grown to uncontrollable rates. Our
communities need to come together to not only act as volunteers, but to support the
communities that need our help most, like the Navajo Reservation. If we contain the population
of roaming and feral animals not only can we fix the population problem, but we create a safer
community as a whole. The spay and neutering of these animals will reduce the risk of
aggressive animals, which decrease the pet population. Though this will reduce the amount of
animal attacks happening due to these animals. This will allow for the sanitation levels in the
surrounding communities to rise. This will be seen when the defecation and urination of the
animals comes to a stop around the community. Though many may not know how to help,
volunteering is an option that is widely needed and appreciated throughout the community.

Discussion
Recent developments in the scientific community have brought to light the possibility of a
pill to assist in the neutering or spaying of these wild, homeless pets. The idea behind this pill is
to aide in the population increase in canines. The reproduction rates in these canines has risen
significantly over the past five years. This increase is causing a problem with creating
unacceptable living conditions for the animals as well as residents of the Reservation. This pill
is a non surgical alternative (Grimm 2009), as well as a chance to control the population
increase using a sterilization technique that is non toxic and safe for the animals consumption.
With the increase in canine population the chance of human attacks is at a higher risk than ever.
With many attacks, the most heartbreaking was one of a three year old who was viciously
mauled by a pack of dogs. Shaken by a vicious dog mauling that killed a 3-year-old boy on the
Navajo Nation, local leaders are expressing anger over the attack, saying encounters with stray
and feral animals on the vast reservation are all too common and more could have been done

to prevent the tragedy (Hudetz 2016). Is this going to be a reoccurring issue? Is it true that the
law enforcers are not doing all they can? Are the leaders looking for someone to blame it on?

Conclusion
Many know about the overpopulation of pets and that everyday there is an enormous
amount of animals killed in shelters around the world:

Approximately 7.6 million companion animals enter animal shelters

nationwide every year. Of those, approximately 3.9 million are dogs and 3.4 million
are cats.

Each year, approximately 2.7 million animals are euthanized (1.2 million
dogs and 1.4 million cats).
Not many are getting adopted:

Approximately 2.7 million shelter animals are adopted each year (1.4 million

dogs and 1.3 million cats).

This does not include the animals that are roaming the streets around the world. The public
needs to be educated more. We might could change the living conditions and decrease the
population. Education should be given to as many people as possible to change way the
animals are living. Without this, nothing is going to change.

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