Background Check Research Paper

Background checks prior to pet adoption: who, how and why?

According to the ASPCA, 7.6 million companion animals enter animal shelters nationwide every year, 2.7 million are euthanized and 2.8 million are adopted (Pet Statistics, ASPCA). Sadly, those adopted don't always find the perfect home which causes 35% of them to end up at the shelter a second time (Beirne, Piers, and N. South). To prevent this, how would people feel if background checks were put into place when a person wanted to get a pet? The number of companion animals abused and abandoned speak for themselves, whether it be for financial motives, selfish reasons or even pure ignorance not all pets are cared for adequately. Therefore, it only seems fair, for the well-being of

This would require that the adopters go through a criminal background check and the bill would prohibit a shelter, store or breeder from allowing a person to adopt an animal without a background check. Implementing these sorts of verifications may vary in difficulty depending on the sort of business selling companion animals. Breeders shouldn't be an issue seeing as they usually very careful to ensure their animals go to responsible owners. They go through a variety of procedures such as giving questionnaires, interviewing, delivering puppies to their new homes to check the pet’s future living area (Robin Tierney). Pet shops, on the other hand, are interested in making a profit off of the animal more than anything else so it will have to be regularly verified that they are correctly doing the background checks. This might be an issue because this would cost time and money to control all pet shops around the country. It is more than probable that one of the many animal welfare associations or a collaboration of a few of them would be willing to supervise that the process is going smoothly. If none are willing to do it, the practice would have to be government funded which might pose some problems