Kooringal Veterinary Hospital is part of the National Desexing Network (NDN), an organisation that aims to increase uptake of the procedure in order to reduce the number of abandoned and stray animals across Australia.

Director Mark Sayer said as a member of the NDN the clinic offers low income earners on pensions or social payments reduced costs all year, but in July they are inviting all residents to access the cheaper service.

"We do it for social responsibility, we believe we need to give back to society," Mr Sayer said. "Most vets subsidise desexing, there's almost no vet that charges out at the recommended fee, but we discount a little bit further, donating our time and facilities, [and] for this month anyone can access it."

The hospital is urging owners to take up the offer after a slow start to the month, with associate vet Daniel Lawson saying they are hoping to see numbers similar to last year when they performed 320 operations in July.

"It's been a little bit quieter this year, normally we're pretty well flat out doing eight to 10 every day, this year we've only had three or four a day," he said.

The Animal Welfare League's Joy Verrinder who runs the NSD said the initiative hopes to see numbers in Wagga pounds and shelters decrease.

"We hold National Desexing Month to promote desexing before spring breeding season begins," she said.

Mr Sayer said reducing unwanted animals is why he decided to participate.

"The main reason we do the program is because of the number of unwanted animals, the overpopulation of dogs and cats in Australia, that's the major reason," Mr Sayer said. "There's a personal gain for pet owners but it's a societal based issue."

Mr Lawson said benefits, outside of avoiding unwanted pregnancies, include reduced cancer risks in some dogs and cats and reduced territorial behaviour from desexed males.

Reduced prices will see a female cat cost $259 instead of $361 and a male $138 instead of $222.

Dog owners can expect similar rates - a medium sized female dog will cost $372 instead of $489, while a male of the same size will be $283 instead of $398.

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