Follow the Logic

I've seen two bumper stickers in the past few days that made me think about the logic they were using. They read something to the effect of "Don't breed or buy while shelter pets die." There are various bumper stickers around with similar slogans. I find this logic interesting because those sporting these stickers are either trying to decrease the demand for bred pets, increase the demand for sheltered pets, or both. I would assume that the attempt is to increase demand for shelter pets. It is most likely produced by animal rights activists or shelters hoping that people will get their pets from a shelter rather than going to the pet store. But they threw breeding in there also. That is what makes this interesting. If you were just trying to increase demand for shelter pets, you could easily leave it at "Don't buy while shelter pets die." But by including breeding, they are implying it is wrong to supply while there is obviously a demand.

From an economic perspective, do they assume that shelter pets and bred pets are substitute goods. Pefectly, I believe that means that if the supply of bred pets decreases, rather than having a price increase, buyers will instead turn to shelter pets. The reason the price will not increase is that demand and supply are still meeting at the same price. As supply drops, so does demand, but demand for shelter pets increases. We all know that this is not the case. As the supply of bred pets decreases and they become harder to find, the price will go up. This will turn some people away from bed pets to shelter pets, thus having the effect that bumper sticker sponsors are hoping for. But only in the short run, because pretty soon, those with pets will realize that the price has gone up and will start breeding in order to make more money. Maybe by then people will have become accustomed to getting pets at shelters or hearing about others who got pets at shelters, and so demand for shelter pets will remain constant or not be so dramatically affected as it was before. But, without a doubt, there are many that do not consider the two, bred pets and shelter pets, substitute goods. So, those that are breeding are simply meeting a market demand. But by including "Don't breed" in the bumper sticker, the creators are villianizing the act of breeding, the act of meeting a market demand. Not only should you not buy a pet, but they shouldn't even be bred as long as there are perfectly good, substitute goods sitting in a shelter somewhere. To put this in perspective, the logic is that the producer, meeting market demand is part of the culprit. I am not disagreeing or agreeing, simply pointing out that they are in fact making a political statement, maybe without realizing it. Because if this logic follows, then tobacco companies are wrong, not for false advertising, but for producing cigarettes. McDonald's is bad, not because they try and hide the nutritional facts, but because they actually produce food that is bad for you. To take it to the extreme (I'm just trying to follow the logic), a parent is wrong for having a child as long as any child is up for adoption in poor circumstances (maybe some what accept this logic if the children in orphanages were actually being put to sleep as a result of the overcrowding). Even if American children are fairly well taken care of, children in orphanages abroad are much worse off and I would not be surprised to learn that many perish as a result of the conditions. So, following the logic, are parents of American babies wrong for having children? Or are the two groups of children, your own offspring and potential adoptees, not substitute goods (sorry for referring to children as goods)?

If you follow the logic, those placing bumper stickers on cars reading "Don't breed or buy while shelter pets die" should be arguing in favor of mandatory birth control until the world's orphanages are empty. Just a thought.