Sharon Shannon got the press flashbulbs going off like firecrackers on Galway's Shop Street during her ARAN ad unveiling to encourage people to Adopt and Never Buy! In the new ad campaign, the staunch vegetarian and animal lover poses cheek to cheek with Foxy and Lilly, just two of her many rescued companions. The ad was shot in Galway Bay by professional photographer, Martina Regan, and designed by Littlebigdog.ie and is intended to raise awareness about the Irish problem of homeless and abandoned animals and encourages members of the public to adopt a loving animal from their local pound or animal shelter where lots of animals are in need of a good home. Sharon will also be signing copies of her new ad campaign at various upcoming gigs across the country that will help educate even more people to the benefits of adopting a loving, needy animal. The ad will also be sent viral through social media outlets. Click here to see the ad unveiling.

Encouraging people to adopt animals from shelters instead of buying them is important. However, it is even more imperative that our society implement measures to reduce the number of puppies and kittens being born at the source. This can best be accomplished by spaying and neutering as many animals as possible. 

The Solution to Overpopulation: Spaying and Neutering:
Spaying/neutering means sterilizing dogs and cats so that they can’t reproduce. Female animals are spayed by performing a surgical procedure to remove their uterine organs so they cannot be impregnated, while neutering involves castrating male animals so they are unable to inseminate females. Both operations are done using anesthesia typically on dogs and cats older than eight weeks of age. 

Permanent sterilization has proven to be the most effective method of preventing animals from being born into a world that cannot provide for their needs. Slowing birth rates also reduces the strain on overburdened shelters, allowing them to keep animals longer instead of euthanizing them for lack of space. Fortunately, concerted efforts by shelters, legislators and animal advocates have made spaying and neutering much more widespread, available and affordable. The word of huge numbers of animal rescue groups here in Ireland is making an incredible differnce in saving the lives of many animals, but much more work still needs to be done which is why we cannot overlly state how important it is that you always adopt and never buy when looking to give an animal a loving, caring and permanent home.

Sharon now joins a growing list of Irish celebrities who are backing ARAN’s campaigns and programs to help stop cruelty to animals.