Governor Landry Declares April 30 as ‘Louisiana Loves Shelter Animals Day’ as Nearly Half of Louisiana Shelters Achieve No-Kill

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New Data from Best Friends Animal Society Shows Louisiana Saved 77% of Healthy and Treatable Pets in Shelters in 2024

Governor Jeff Landry has proclaimed April 30 as Louisiana Loves Shelter Animals Day, a critical acknowledgement of the role adoption plays in no-kill* communities. This effort underscores Louisiana’s commitment to ending the unnecessary killing of dogs and cats throughout the state’s shelters. 

This proclamation coincides with annual data that was just released by Best Friends Animal Society showing that no-kill programming in shelters nationwide is on the rise due to increasing public demand and support for no-kill. In 2024, nearly half of Louisiana’s 70 animal shelters maintained or achieved no-kill, and of the 36 shelters that are not yet no-kill, 13 of them have less than 100 dogs and cats left to save to get there. Louisiana saved 77% of pets in its shelters in 2024, but for Louisiana to become no-kill, 12,900 additional dogs and cats need to be adopted. Throughout 2024, the state made lifesaving progress thanks to implementation of proven programming including the expansion of adoption, foster, volunteer, community cat, and managed intake programs. 

“Louisiana is making substantial progress in pet lifesaving, and this requires a collaborative approach among community members, elected officials, and animal welfare organizations to save every adoptable pet,” said Julie Castle, CEO, Best Friends Animal Society. “Governor Landry’s declaration significantly propels the no-kill movement, encouraging the community to actively participate in helping to make Louisiana a no-kill state. We commend the Governor for leading this lifesaving initiative to help safeguard the lives of Louisiana dogs and cats.”    

To help Louisiana achieve no-kill, Best Friends is urging Louisianans to adopt a pet from a local shelter or reputable rescue group instead of purchasing a pet from a breeder or store. In addition, residents of the Pelican State can increase pet lifesaving by helping lost dogs find their owners without ever having to enter a shelter. Residents can do this by starting a local lost and found pet page on social media, fundraising for a microchip scanner station, and trying to locate owners of found pets before taking them to the area shelter. By taking reunification into their own hands, community members can alleviate stress on overwhelmed shelters and keep lost dogs closer to home, as approximately 70 percent of them are found within a mile of their home.  

Individuals can also contribute by spaying or neutering their pets, ensuring pets are microchipped and have ID tags with current contact information, fostering dogs and cats in need, volunteering, donating, and advocating on behalf of homeless dogs and cats.   

 To learn more about Best Friends data or how to help take Louisiana no-kill, visit bestfriends.org. 

*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. 


 

About Best Friends Animal Society

Best Friends Animal Society is a leading animal welfare organization dedicated to saving the lives of dogs and cats in America's shelters and making the entire country no-kill. Founded in 1984, Best Friends runs lifesaving facilities and programs nationwide in partnership with more than 5,000 shelters and rescue organizations. From our headquarters in Kanab, Utah, we also operate the nation's largest no-kill animal sanctuary — a destination that brings our mission to life for thousands of visitors each year. We maintain the most comprehensive animal sheltering data in the country and make it accessible to the public — empowering communities with critical insights into the needs of their local shelters and how they can help. We believe every dog and cat deserves a home. And we believe that, by working together, we can Save Them All®.