Best Friends Animal Society Withdraws its Offer of Support to Provo City

Today, Best Friends Animal Society announced that the organization is rescinding their offer of support, valued at up to one million dollars over three years, to implement and help run a city-wide community cat pilot program with Provo City. The organization will redirect the funding and support to partners and shelters that demonstrate a greater sense of urgency and commitment to save at-risk pets in shelters.

The offer would have been at no cost to the city or the animal shelter.

Best Friends, a leading national animal welfare organization working to end the killing of cats and dogs in America’s shelters in 2025, is deeply invested in the pets of its home state of Utah.  

Best Friends began conversations with policymakers in February of 2024, and patiently worked to move the opportunity forward. As the need to come to an agreement became urgent, the delays and lack of communication from the administration continued. In a November 2024 council work session meeting between Best Friends and city leaders, the Provo City Police Department officially expressed their opposition to the program while the City Council voted in favor of pursuing it.

Currently, Utah County has the highest euthanasia rate in the state and neither of the county’s shelters have achieved no-kill status. The two shelters in Utah County, North Utah Valley Animal Shelter and South Utah Valley Animal Shelter are responsible for 96% of all cats killed in the entire state. This is largely due to the trapping, impounding, and killing of otherwise healthy outdoor cats and a longstanding refusal to adopt contemporary cat programs that most other Utah shelters adopted.

The offer of support would have allowed Best Friends to help the city implement a pilot community cat program – a way to eliminate the need to even consider killing cats entering the shelter. By ignoring the offer, the police department and Mayor’s office actively choose not to improve the care their community’s cats receive.

“Now is a critical time for the dogs and cats in Utah County’s shelter system and we know that no-kill is achievable for the Beehive State,” said Holly Sizemore, Chief Mission Officer, Best Friends Animal Society. “Best Friends time and time again has offered a helping hand to this shelter system. We were hopeful that Provo City would finally be the leader to at least give this lifesaving program a shot.  But despite good faith efforts and hearing positive feedback from the Mayor and City Council, our offer has been met with constant delays and roadblocks.”

To learn more about Best Friends Animal Society, visit bestfriends.org.