How would YOU solve pet neglect and abuse in the USA?

I am looking for as many viewpoints as possible. In your opinion, what would be the ideal method of preventing animal neglect and abuse, specifically of pets? Would it be to completely eliminate all breeding operations? Only large scale ones? Only "in home" breeders? Require actual licenses (more along the lines of a driver's license, where you actually have to prove you know what you are doing, rather than just notifying your city hall that you have a pet) to breed or own an animal? Is it through education of the public/potential owners? More regulation of the pet trade? The elimination of "middle men" such as pet stores? The promotion of one or more sources of pets over others? What about legislation on what constitutes cruelty? Would you change something about how rescued animals are adopted out, or how the legal process works? Would you require that all or certain animals be spayed or neutered? What about pet abortion?Would it be better to see certain species, including dogs and cats, no longer kept as pets at all if it meant the end of suffering for the abused ones?I want your thoughts! Feel free to bring in religion, politics, experience, academics, EVERYTHING you can think of in this line of thought. Keep in mind that I am asking about every pet from gold fish to parrots to dogs to horse to llamas. Pick one or all, I want your thoughts!Please note that I am doing "real" research in this area as well, this is just the "public opinion" bit. I don't usually do this, but because I am INCREDIBLY INTERESTED in everyone's ideas, I am going to put my email address here. I do not have a business to promote or a website to visit, but if you want to contact me about this issue or something related to this, I would love to hear from you. Please do not abuse my email, I am trying to prevent animal abuse, not get abused myself. You can reach me at [email protected]

I would make more rules for breeders. Real breeders do care about the health of their animals, they do take them to vets, they do not make dogs have more than one litter a year, and they do not have a huge number (20+) of animals. The rules would allow the real breeders to do what they do (because these breeders also care so much about good owners ONLY getting their animals) and stop (or at least slow down) puppy millers or people who just want to breed animals to make fast money.I would also make more rules with stricter punishment about what is neglect or abuse. Right now there is no punishment in many towns for keeping your dog on a chain all day and all night, no punishment for letting them get pregnant and have litter after litter, no punishment for letting them run free around cities.I wouldn't force all animals to be spayed or neutered (because there ARE legitimate breeders or people who are NEVER going to breed but don't want to spay/neuter for health reasons) but I sure would encourage people to spay or neuter by making it CHEAP, making licenses for non spay/neutered dogs more expensive.I also think a HUGE area that needs improvement is EDUCATION. People should be educated about how much work pets (especially dogs) can be and how it is NOT OKAY to get a pet impulsively and get rid of it when you have a baby or have to move. I think there really *are* circumstances where people have to get rid of an animal for a reason they could not control, but so many people just send them to the shelter when they tire of them.