New Data Confirms No-Kill Shelters Are Now the Norm in America

Americans saved four million dogs and cats last year from dying in U.S. shelters, according to new data from Best Friends Animal Society, a leading national animal welfare organization working to end the killing of cats and dogs in America’s shelters. Best Friends’ 2024 dataset gives the most accurate and comprehensive national overview of the number of dogs and cats that enter and exit shelters in a given year.  

Best Friends attributes the positive pet lifesaving numbers to a trend showing increased support and momentum for no-kill* shelter programs across the country. Over the last eight years, shelters have seen a nearly 60 percent reduction in the number of pets being killed for space.  

In 2024, just under five million dogs and cats entered America’s shelters, down 12% compared to 2016. To put that in perspective, in 2016, over one million dogs and cats were killed in shelters. Last year that number dropped to 425,000— a 59% decrease, with nearly two out three shelters achieving no-kill.

“Our new data is something to celebrate because it proves that America is no longer willing to accept killing pets as a viable means for managing pet populations in shelters,” said Julie Castle, CEO, Best Friends Animal Society. “Since we put a stake in the ground in 2016 committing to make the country no-kill, we have seen what many considered a pipedream become the new normal. But there is still work to be done—last year 425,000 dogs and cats were killed simply because they didn’t have a place to call home. We will continue working to save the lives of all healthy and treatable dogs and cats until we make that a reality.”

Governors and lawmakers nationwide are aligning with no-kill trends as well, with nine states having issued no-kill proclamations or resolutions since 2024 – including Arizona, Georgia, Montana, Idaho, Mississippi, North Dakota, Utah, Virginia and Washington.  

At present, Delaware, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont have achieved and maintained no-kill, meaning every shelter in those four states has a save rate of 90% or greater.  

Ten other states, plus the District of Columbia, have less than a thousand pets to save in order to reach no-kill across their state. Below is a breakdown of approximately how many more pets need to be saved in each state – from closest to no-kill to furthest:

• Montana – 40  
• North Dakota – 50  
• Maine – 150    
• Connecticut and Wyoming – 200  
• Massachusetts – 300  
• Idaho and Nebraska – 450  
• Minnesota - 500
• Oregon plus the District of Columbia– 800  
• West Virginia – 1,100  
• Alaska – 1,300  
• South Dakota – 1,500  
• Iowa – 1,600  
• New Jersey, Utah and Washington – 1,700  
• Nevada —1,900  
• Colorado — 2,300  
• Kansas and Missouri — 2,400  
• New York — 2,500  
• Wisconsin — 2,900  
• Arizona and Hawaii — 5,200  
• Pennsylvania — 5,400  
• Arkansas — 5,800  
• Mississippi — 6,200  
• Maryland — 8,000  
• South Carolina — 8,800
• Virginia — 9,100  
• Indiana — 9,300    
• Tennessee — 9,600  
• Illinois and Oklahoma — 10,100  
• Michigan — 10,700  
• Ohio — 11,500  
• Kentucky — 12,300  
• New Mexico — 12,400  
• Louisiana — 12,900
• Georgia — 20,100  
• Alabama — 21,300  
• Florida — 22,600  
• North Carolina — 35,300  
• California — 62,400  
• Texas — 86,000

“Millions of U.S. households will add a pet to their family this year,” said Castle. “If just 1 in 17 of those families chose to adopt a pet from a shelter instead of purchasing from a pet store or breeder, we could reach no-kill nationwide. This is solvable – we can end the unnecessary killing of our nation’s pets – their lives are literally in all of our hands.”

To learn more visit bestfriends.org.  

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*No-kill is defined by a 90% save rate for animals entering a shelter and is a meaningful and common-sense benchmark for measuring lifesaving progress. Typically, the number of pets who are suffering from irreparable medical or behavioral issues that compromise their quality of life and prevent them from being rehomed is not more than 10% of all dogs and cats entering shelters. For any community to be no-kill, all stakeholders in that community must work together to achieve and sustain that common goal while prioritizing community safety and good quality of life for pets as guiding no-kill principles. This means cooperation among animal shelters, animal rescue groups, government agencies, community members and other stakeholders, all committed to best practices and protocols. 

About Best Friends Animal Society Data 
Best Friends Animal Society has the most comprehensive and accurate dataset in the industry, providing key insights and analytics from more than 10,000 shelters and rescue groups across the United States, and sharing it in the most transparent way possible. This data is publicly available through our pet lifesaving dashboard down to the shelter level. Best Friends believes trusting the public with this level of data transparency is critical for a community to achieve no-kill. Our lifesaving dashboard is the ONLY centralized place where you can go see individual shelter data, including data that Best Friends actively sought out through open records requests and publicly accessible sources to provide the most complete picture possible.