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KIRKSVILLE, MO. -- The Adair County Humane Society is kicking off their annual “Be a PAL-Prevent a Litter” spay and neuter campaign.

This campaign provides incentives for people to spay or neuter their animals during the month of March.

Seven area veterinarians are offering discounted rates. Rates vary depending on size, sex and species: neutering a cat can cost as little as $25, while spaying a dog will cost between $45 and $84.

“We think that people really do want to do the right thing. They really do want to fix their animals and help us with the problem up here, but they just can't afford it,” said Bridget Thomas a board member for Adair County Humane Society. “We've heard from many people, and we've done this for three years now, and we've had many people tell us they really couldn't do it without our help, especially people who have a stray cat show up and they just can't afford it. The help that we're giving them really makes a difference.”

This is the third year organizers have put on the event, and they say each year more and more people are taking advantage of the discounted rate.

“Local vets say they are very busy and booked solid during this time because of people taking advantage of the campaign,” said Thomas. “The first year we did it, we had about 101 animals spayed or neutered in March. The second year it was 212 animals, so this year we're thinking we can get as high as 300 animals.”

The Adair County Humane Society says if you have fixed your animals yet, this is the time to do it. Not only is it cheaper during the month of March, having your pet spayed or neutered is beneficial for you and your animal.

“Spay and neuter is really important for us out here because we see so many unwanted animals and we are always full to capacity. There are way more cats and dogs in this area than we need, so we are at the saturation point,” said Thomas. “For people privately, they might want to spay and neuter because it helps their animals be more loyal, stay closer to home, not get into fights, and not pee in the house. So there are behaviors that can be corrected. Also, if you spay and neuter your animal when it’s very young, you can prevent certain diseases.”

Complete up to date information is available at preventalitter.blogspot.com or you can contact the Adair Humane Society at (660) 665-8038 or by emailing them at adairhumanesoceity@yahoo.com