Affordable spay/neuter is a basic community service that New Mexicans need but often struggle to access—especially in rural, Tribal, and low-income areas.

Not only is spay/neuter proven to be the best effective way to reduce animal shelter overcrowding and euthanasia, but it also addresses public safety threats, such as bites and attacks by stray dog packs, vehicle collisions with loose animals, and disease transmission.

That’s why the New Mexico Legislature enacted the Affordable Spay/Neuter Law in 2020. The law established a new spay/neuter funding mechanism: a small fee paid by pet food manufacturers on each product they register to sell in New Mexico. To date, the law has brought in over $5 million in spay/neuter funding, and the first $1 million was distributed to spay/neuter service providers this fall.

When the law was negotiated in the Legislature years ago, it was amended to include an “automatic repeal” provision—an expiration date, in case there was evidence that the pet food manufacturer fees negatively impacted the pet food industry in New Mexico. But five years after the passage of the year, here’s what the evidence shows:

• No decrease in the number of pet food companies doing business in New Mexico (instead, an increase!)
• No decrease in the number of different pet food products registered to be sold and available for New Mexico consumers (again, an increase!)
• The first and only reliable source of funding for affordable spay/neuter services New Mexico has ever seen.

Now the situation is dire—New Mexico cannot let the Affordable Spay/Neuter Law expire!

TAKE ACTION: Please urge your State Representative and State Senator to save the Affordable Spay/Neuter Law by removing the law’s repeal date during the 2026 state legislative session. Use the form to edit and send a message, and then visit www.nmlegis.gov to find your legislators’ phone numbers and follow up with a phone call.