Section 17-801. Legislative findings

The City Council hereby finds that New
  York City is experiencing a serious overpopulation of unwanted dogs  and
  cats.  This  is a matter of serious concern affecting the public health,
  safety and welfare. The  Center  for  Animal  Care  and  Control,  which
  operates  animal  shelters  under contract with the City's Department of
  Health and mental hygiene, estimates  that  67,000  unwanted,  stray  or
  abandoned  dogs  and  cats  entered  its  facilities  in  1998. Of these
  animals, approximately seventy percent  were  not  spayed  or  neutered.
  While  wandering the City's streets, homeless dogs and cats reproduce at
  alarming rates,  exacerbating  a  potentially  unhealthy  and  dangerous
  situation.  As a result of this situation, dog packs have formed in some
  areas, increasing numbers of individuals and animals  are  at  risk  for
  rabies,  and  many homeless animals have become the victims of vehicular
  accidents. These animals also suffer from lack of  food  and  water  and
  exposure to the elements. Given the large and growing number of unwanted
  dogs and cats, the Council finds that a law providing for a full-service
  animal  shelter in each borough and the spaying and neutering of animals
  adopted from animal shelters or purchased from pet shops is necessary to
  protect the health, safety and welfare of New York City  residents.  The
  Council  also  finds that with the advancement of medical knowledge over
  the past ten years, many veterinarians now advocate and  practice  early
  sterilization  of pets, as early as eight weeks of age. Veterinarians at
  animal hospitals and humane shelters across the country, as well as  the
  American  Society  for  the  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Animals,  have
  performed thousands of  early  spay-neuter  surgeries.  Many  veterinary
  associations  now  also  agree that even though any surgery has inherent
  risks, kittens and puppies heal faster and are lower surgical risks than
  older animals who may be ill, in heat, or pregnant. If dogs or cats  are
  spayed or neutered before adoption from a shelter or purchase from a pet
  shop,  then the chance that they will add more unwanted offspring to the
  numbers that already exist will be eliminated.