Animal shelters are meant to serve as a sanctuary for homeless and abandoned pets. However, many shelters in the United States are facing a growing problem: high kill rates. Such shelters are forced to put down a large number of animals every year due to overcrowding and limited resources. In 2021 alone, over a quarter of a million dogs and cats (355,000) were killed in animal shelters all across the nation for lack of a place to call home. 

The Special Reports Team at Onevet.ai analyzed animal shelter intake and outcome data collected from 3,261 shelters across the nation. This number represents 80.2% of the nation’s total brick-and-mortar shelters and an estimated 93.5% of the total sheltered animals in the country.

Using this data, the Team then compiled a list of the top 10 states with the highest animal shelter kill rates, the top 10 states with the highest volume of shelter kills, and the top 10 states with the lowest animal shelter kill rates. 

(The numbers cited in the Team’s rankings do not include the estimated 10% of shelter animals who are humanely euthanized each year as a result of “suffering from irreparable medical or behavioral issues that compromise their quality of life and prevent them from being rehomed.”+)

Mississippi tops the list with the highest animal shelter kill rate in the nation at 18.3%. This is more than 3 times the nation-wide average of approximately 5%. Every year, over 65,000 animals enter shelters in Mississippi. However, because less than half of Mississippi’s shelters are designated as ‘no-kill’ shelters, many of these animals meet an unfortunate end. The same holds true for North Carolina (14.3%), Alabama (14.2%), and Louisiana (12.6%), where only a third of animal shelters in each state are no-kill shelters.

No-kill shelters are shelters where every dog and cat who can be rehomed is permitted to remain at the shelter or in foster care indefinitely instead of being put down due to overcrowding or lack of resources. At such shelters, humane euthanasia is only considered an option for animals “suffering from irreparable medical or behavioral issues that compromise their quality of life and prevent them from being rehomed” (Best Friends Animal Society).

Only 52% of U.S. animal shelters, however, are no-kill shelters. In many cases, shelters simply do not have the necessary resources and funding to develop life-saving programs (e.g. free or low-cost spay/neuter services in the community, trap-neuter-return programs for free-roaming cats, foster programs to reduce the amount of time an animal spends in a shelter setting, etc.) that can end preventable shelter deaths.

When it comes to actual numbers, Texas tops the list for the number of shelter animals killed in a given year at over 61,000. This number is nearly 10 times the national average and represents nearly 20% of the total kills for the entire nation.

In Texas, only an estimated 36% of the state’s 371 animal shelters have achieved a ‘no-kill’ designation, making the state a top priority for Best Friends Animal Society’s No-Kill 2025 Campaign, a movement led by the nation’s largest animal sanctuary of its kind to help every shelter in the nation become no-kill by 2025.

Texas, California, North Carolina, Florida, and Alabama’s numbers alone account for more than half of all shelter animals killed in the country. In addition to Texas, these states are also listed as either Top Priority or High Priority states when it comes Best Friends Animal Society’s No-Kill 2025 Campaign.

In 2016, only 24% of U.S. shelters were no-kill shelters. Today, that number has doubled to 52%. Many states, such as New Hampshire and Delaware, are paving the way for what a no-kill reality can look like for animal shelters.

Many others are following suit. All 15 states in the above ranking have achieved the no-kill benchmark of a 90% ‘save’ rate for its animals.

That remaining 10% gap accounts for the 10% of shelter animals who are humanely euthanized each year as a result of “suffering from irreparable medical or behavioral issues that compromise their quality of life and prevent them from being rehomed.”+ Healthy and treatable pets, however, are never put down at no-kill shelters.

How to Help Animal Shelters Achieve No-Kill Status

Best Friends Animal Society provides the following framework on their website to achieve no-kill status in shelters, communities, and at the state level:

“The most effective path to no-kill includes a combination of (1) collaborative partnerships and coalitions among animal shelters, animal rescue groups and community members working toward a collective goal; (2) proven programs and best practices designed to save the most lives possible; and (3) data-driven decision-making for each individual community.

No-kill coalition-building: Creating a no-kill community or a no-kill state requires collaboration among organizations and individuals committed to achieving a common goal. Through the coalition model, communities can utilize resources more effectively; create unified public messaging; maintain consistent, transparent reporting; take collective ownership of lifesaving; and measure and sustain progress over time.

Best Friends’ No-Kill Utah (NKUT) and No-Kill Los Angeles (NKLA) initiatives are examples of successful no-kill coalitions at the state and city levels. Effective coalitions also pursue opportunities for providing professional development and training to help shelter staff, animal control officers and animal welfare leaders gain the expertise they need to save more lives.

Lifesaving programs and best practices: While each shelter and community have unique lifesaving needs, there are a number of best practices and programs that are used in some form or another in any community working toward no-kill. These programs include:

  • Targeted spay/neuter services to reduce the number of dogs and cats entering shelters
  • Adoption and community foster programs to drastically minimize the amount of time animals spend in shelters
  • Community cat programs that use trap-neuter-return (TNR) and return-to-field (RTF) strategies to keep unowned, free-roaming cats (aka stray or feral cats) out of shelters
  • Various other programs, such as neonatal kitten nurseries and transport programs

Data-driven decision-making: Collecting accurate and current data on how many and what types of animals are entering and leaving shelters helps shelter leadership decide exactly which lifesaving programs are needed most in their community. For example, if a particular shelter is saving homeless dogs successfully but is struggling to reduce the number of free-roaming cats entering the shelter, staff may need to prioritize implementing a community cat program and training animal control officers to engage effectively with residents to address cat-related issues. A common first step for most shelters is to conduct a gap analysis to determine their lifesaving needs.”

Animal Shelter Statistics

4.6 million dogs and cats entered U.S. animal shelters in 2021. Of those, 83% were saved. Sadly, 355,000 dogs and cats needlessly died. 

(Best Friends Animal Society)

Five states account for half of all cats and dogs killed in U.S. animal shelters: California, Texas, Florida, North Carolina, and Alabama. 

(Best Friends Animal Society)

The percentage of U.S. shelters that are no-kill doubled in the past six years, from 24% in 2016 to 52% in 2021. 

(Best Friends Animal Society)

No-kill shelters are shelters where every dog and cat who can be rehomed is permitted to remain at the shelter or in foster care indefinitely instead of being put down due to overcrowding or lack of resources. At such shelters, humane euthanasia is only considered an option for animals “suffering from irreparable medical or behavioral issues that compromise their quality of life and prevent them from being rehomed.”

(Onevet.ai)

(Best Friends Animal Society)

85% of adults feel it is very important or essential to have no-kill shelters in their area. 81% said they would be more likely to support a shelter working towards becoming no-kill. 52% said they would donate to a local shelter or rescue group to ensure shelters become no-kill. 

(Best Friends 2022 Brand Study) 

The number of pets killed in U.S. shelters has seen a reduction of 77% since 2016, partly because of the increase in no-kill shelters.

(Best Friends Animal Society)

Delaware and New Hampshire are currently the only states in the nation that are no-kill states.

(Best Friends Animal Society)

According to the Shelter Animals Count database, which collects information for 2,290 shelters and rescues, intakes are roughly twice as likely to be strays than they are to be relinquished by their owner.

(Shelter Animals Count)

Pets are relinquished to shelters for reasons related to the owner’s circumstances at roughly a ratio of 3 to 1 as compared to reasons specific to the animal. Top reasons revolve around: having too many animals, housing, a death in the family, and finances. 

(Best Friends Animal Society)

The top reason dogs are surrendered to animal shelters is because of housing reasons. 

(Best Friends Animal Society)

While cats and dogs enter US shelters in roughly equal numbers, more than twice as many cats are needlessly dying in shelters. 68% of the animals killed in shelters are cats (the remaining 32% are dogs).

(Best Friends Animal Society)

Spaying and neutering reduces the number of animals who enter shelters and may also prevent medical and behavioral problems. However, there has been a downward trend in the number of dogs and cats spayed and neutered in recent years. 

(APPA) 

A 2012 to 2015 study examining the effects of return-to-field and trap-neuter-return approaches in Albuquerque. Local feline euthanasia declined 84.1% and intake dropped 37.6% over the three years.

(Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute)

Breed-specific legislation (BSL) bans or restricts certain types of dogs based on their appearance, usually because they are perceived as dangerous. 84% of Americans believe that federal, state or local government should not tell citizens what breeds of dog they cannot own. Sadly, legislation in seven states currently restricts dogs seized in dogfighting cases, stigmatizing them as damaged and unadoptable and denying them an opportunity to prove otherwise.

(2014 BF Focus Group Research via Luntz Global National Survey)