FLAGLER HUMANE SOCIETY: animal friendly specialty license plate helps save lives - michael towner

Thanks to accessible, low-cost spay/neuter, along with stricter animal protection laws, humane education and pet stores, the national euthanasia of animals has dropped to just over 2 million annually today from more than 20 million in 1985.
In 1985, animal shelters across the United States were being forced to euthanize well over 20 million dogs and cats per year. Over the years, low-cost sterilization services provided through animal shelters have become the norm. Thanks to accessible, low-cost spay/neuter, along with stricter animal protection laws, humane education and pet stores like PetsMart, Petco and PetSupermarket helping homeless animals rather than selling puppy mill dogs, the national euthanasia of animals has dropped to just over 2 million annually today.
The fact that dog and cat euthanasia have dropped to less than 10% of what they were 35 years ago is quite startling.
In 2006, an organization called Florida Animal Friend partnered with the state of Florida to create a spay and neuter specialty license plate. The plate features a dog and cat with the message “Spay & Neuter.” The plate was updated in 2016 to a new design of a dog and cat with a beach in the background - the proceeds for these plates go to spay and neuter programs throughout the state of Florida.
The plates also send a message to all who see them and the earnings are used as grant money for deserving shelters that apply and are awarded a piece of the proceeds.
This year, Flagler Humane Society was the recipient of their fourth Florida Animal Friend grant. Over $580,000 will be distributed between 32 organizations, the largest amount ever, thanks to those who purchased the newly designed plates.