No-kill animal shelters: The new normal in America

The future for dogs and cats in the United States got much brighter in 2024.

Americans helped save nearly 4 million dogs and cats from being killed in shelters last year, according to new data released by Best Friends Animal Society. And nearly 2 out of every 3 shelters in the U.S. are no-kill, with hundreds more just steps away from that goal.

Shelters across the country are implementing and growing programs and practices that save more lives — and it’s working. In Las Vegas, a program for community cats (aka cats who live outdoors) enabled The Animal Foundation, the largest animal shelter in Nevada, to significantly increase lifesaving in 2024. And more than 2,000 miles away in rural southeastern Georgia, the Humane Society of South Coastal Georgia has forged partnerships with other organizations to help move animals to places where there are more families looking to adopt.

Although the two shelters serve completely different communities with different needs, they represent the dedicated efforts of people across the country to make no-kill nationwide a reality.

In 2024, the number of cats killed in U.S. shelters reached its lowest point in history, falling to 188,000, a remarkable 10.5% decrease from 2023. That is reflected in the success of The Animal Foundation’s (TAF) community cat program, which made it possible to save 800 more cats than the previous year.

Through the program, cats living outdoors are humanely trapped, spayed or neutered and vaccinated, and then returned to their outdoor homes — a practice called trap-neuter-vaccinate-return that communities across the country use to save the lives of community cats while gradually reducing their numbers.

[How a N.J. shelter is changing the future for pets]

“We’re so proud of the progress we’ve made with our community cat program,” says Kelsey Pizzi, TAF communications manager. “And thanks to grant funding, we’ve been able to buy more traps and provide homeowners with humane deterrents (to keep cats off their property) after they are spayed or neutered and returned to the community.”

An increased budget, more staff, and new partnerships with community organizations contributed to TAF’s ability to expand surgical capacity. Another highlight for the year was adding overnight staff in the kitten nursery to provide around-the-clock care for nursing moms and kittens.

“We’re excited to build on this success by continuing to track our data and share with our team,” Kelsey says. “And knowing that our efforts are saving more lives makes it all so rewarding for everyone here.”

When shelters, rescue groups, and community members join forces, they can save more lives, and the Humane Society of South Coastal Georgia (HSSCG) is a good example of this.

One of the few brick-and-mortar no-kill facilities in a largely rural area of the state, HSSCG has not only maintained its high level of lifesaving, but it also reaches out to help surrounding counties with few resources and no animal services operations. HSSCG takes in animals from other shelters and holds regular adoption events to find homes for them. The events feature free or reduced adoption fees plus promotions, such as free pet food and supplies.

Previously, HSSCG didn’t have a vehicle big enough to move more than a few animals at a time, and the facilities sending animals had to be fairly close to HSSCG’s location in Brunswick, Georgia. But in 2024, new partnerships with organizations that can assist with moving the animals enabled HSSCG to bring in an additional 243 dogs and cats and maintain no-kill despite the increase in admissions.

[How rescue groups and shelters save more pets together]

“The willingness and ability of other organizations to help us with transportation has been a tremendous boon for both us and the animals,” says Staci White, HSSCG marketing and communications director. “And thanks to some generous donations, we also purchased a transport vehicle and also have several volunteer drivers.”

Already in the first three months of 2025, HSSCG has taken in 46% more animals than during the first three months of 2024. “That may not sound like a lot unless you are one of those 24 extra animals we helped,” says Staci. “This year we’ll not only be able to help more animals with transport partnerships, but we’ll also be giving futures to more animals who otherwise would not have one.”

In 2016, when Best Friends declared the bold, historic goal to bring every shelter in America to no-kill, the number of animals killed in shelters was more than 1 million. Last year, that number dropped to 425,000. Additionally, the number of dogs and cats entering America’s shelters declined by 12% from 2016 to 2024.

“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, says Julie Castle, Best Friends CEO. “Since we put a stake in the ground back in 2016 committing to make the country no-kill, we’ve seen what many considered to be a pipe dream become the new normal.”

Best Friends Animal Society’s dataset, the most comprehensive and accurate in the industry, provides key insights and analytics from more than 10,000 shelters and rescue groups across the United States. The data is publicly available through our pet lifesaving dashboard down to the shelter level. Best Friends believes that 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 has actively sought through open records requests and publicly accessible sources to provide the most complete picture possible.

Our goal at Best Friends is to support all animal shelters in the U.S. in reaching no-kill in 2025. No-kill means saving every dog and cat in a shelter who can be saved, accounting for community safety and good quality of life for pets. 

Shelter staff can’t do it alone. Saving animals in shelters is everyone’s responsibility, and it takes support and participation from the community. No-kill is possible when we work together thoughtfully, honestly, and collaboratively.