Columns: No Limits, No Kidding!

ALL SPECIES SPERM COUNT DECLINE

As a purebred dog breeder you may be experiencing reproductive problems and your veterinarian is stumped. Mainstream news says it may get worse.

June 21, 2021

Stella Starr, Pet Perspectives

Tam Cordingley sent our editor a Mount Sinai study showing sperm counts have dropped almost 60% since 1973 ^{{Ref #1 TheGuardian.com}}. The editor called me to see if cat breeders were experiencing any problems. I told her I hadn’t heard anything but would ask around. I laughed when I hung up, wondering what my stud cat would think if I asked him about it.

Six minutes into an internet search, I had to clear my head! How could we have missed this? USA Today, NY Times, Yahoo News, BBC – all report “falling sperm counts” - “sperm count drop” - “sperm count crises!” etc. etc.

As a dog breeder, why haven't you heard about this rising sterility?

Erin Brockovich, who I remember built the precedent-setting case against some gas and electric company 20 years ago (they made a movie about her with Julia Roberts playing the key role) and today she writes for The Guardian. I don't think she is an animal breeder but I believe her when she says sperm counts could reach zero by 2045.

If you breed dogs, horses, cattle, etc. you get what that means. The progeny of that big winner you spent your life (and small fortune) developing would be sterile. Worst of all, the children and grandchildren you’ve dreamed about will be only a dream!

Not as close to your heart but certainly a financial and emotional investment, your breeding program would be the first tip-off. It doesn’t take 12 months, such as in horses and cattle, for cats and dogs to give birth, one site compared them to “breeding like rabbits.”

If you or a family member are trying to make a baby, you might want to ask your doctor about this. I watch a lot of nature shows and I stay tuned to news but I haven’t heard anything on TV about animals going sterile. I guess it wouldn’t show up for a while but if this is true and it affects people too, we are in trouble. I’ll be right back, I am not good at online research but let me see what I can find.

ABC News in Australia (!) said falling sperm counts are from chemicals and I could have spent the day online and not run out of examples. Health sites here say the same thing and that is is from  pollution and chemicals. They were talking about people but you know it applies to our animals too. I will call a couple of my cat friends and see if they are having problems getting kitties.

Reference & Related Information: {#1} Failing sperm counts threaten human survival ~ For more Reproduction Information, visit the world’s first and most authentic source of canine information.

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