World Spay Day advocates spaying, or

neutering Neutering, from the Latin ('of neither sex'), is the removal of a non-human animal's sex organ, reproductive organ, either all of it or a considerably large part. The male-specific term is castration, while spaying is usually reserved for female ...

, advocating it "as a proven means of saving the lives of companion animals, community (feral and stray) cats, and street dogs who might otherwise be put down in a shelter or killed on the street." It is an event held on the last Tuesday in February each year.

History

The event first started as Spay Day USA, an annual event created by

Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress and singer. She began her career as a big band singer in 1937, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, "Sentimental Journey ...

and the

Doris Day Animal League The Doris Day Animal League was an animal advocacy group based in Washington, D.C. It established the annual observance Spay Day USA in 1994, which the group uses to bring attention to the pet overpopulation A pet, or companion animal, is ...

(DDAL) in 1995, to promote spays and neuters across the country to help the problem of homeless pets. After the DDAL's merger with the

Humane Society of the United States Humane World for Animals, formerly the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and Humane Society International (HSI), is a global nonprofit organization that focuses on animal welfare and opposes animal-related cruelties of national scop ...

(HSUS) in 2006, the tradition continued under the auspices of the HSUS as World Spay Day. In 2002, the event's goal was to spay and neuter 200,000 pets across the United States. The Doris Day Animal Foundation (DDAF) reports that since 2008, they have granted HSUS $385,000 for spays and neuters of 9,421 animals in 39 states: 6388 cats, 3007 dogs, and 26 rabbits. Many other organizations and individuals worldwide provide financial support, volunteer and participate in fundraising activities to promote World Spay Day. For World Spay Day 2024, the Found Animals Foundation donated $1 million to Community Animal Medicine Project clinics in Southern California.

World Spay Day events in 2014

In 2014, 700 World Spay Day events were held in 41 countries, including all 50 U.S. states, and over 68,000 companion animals were sterilized. In

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, World Spay Day in February 2014 included spay and neuter clinics in remote communities in northern

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, with additional clinics to follow. In

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

, a clinic sterilizing 25 cats brought the total number of cats sterilized by new low cost clinic to over 2000. The

Canadian Federation of Humane Societies The Canadian Federation of Humane Societies (CFHS), branded as Humane Canada, is a non-profit animal welfare organization in Canada, representing humane societies, SPCAs, and animal rescue organizations. The organization's stated goal is to pr ...

used the 2014 World Spay Day to announce the publication of a report, ''The Case for Accessible Spay/Neuter in Canada'', which "illuminates the lack of accessible spay/neuter in communities across the country and what can be done about it.""Canada’s celebrity cats speak out: It’s World Spay Day, and they want YOU to spay/neuter!"
, Canadian Federation of Humane Societies, February 25, 2014; report is available for download here
"Accessible Spay/Neuter"
.

References

External links

World Spay Day, HSUS

"World Spay Day Ideas for Veterinary Professionals"
{{Doris Day, state=collapsed February observances Veterinary castration Animal welfare Tuesday observances Doris Day