1,224 people need to adopt in order to take Massachusetts No Kill
Nationally, 415,000 Dogs and Cats Were Killed in U.S. Shelters Last Year
KANAB, Utah (August 13, 2024) — Best Friends Animal Society, a leading national animal welfare organization working to end the killing of dogs and cats in America’s shelters in 2025, released new data showing that Massachusetts pet lifesaving held steady over the last year.
The overall save rate in Massachusetts dropped slightly from 90% in 2022, to 89% in 2023. This resulted in 438 cats and 786 dogs unnecessarily dying last year.
“Despite a slight drop in pet lifesaving, 2023 was a pivotal year in the journey to no-kill for the state of Massachusetts,” said Aurora Velazquez, regional director, east, Best Friends Animal Society. “Many state leaders such as MSPCA met or exceeded the 90% benchmark, which is how the animal welfare industry defines no-kill.”
MSPCA is currently leading a statewide initiative, along with five other organizations, to increase adoptions of shelter pets, especially large breed dogs. The initiative, supported by Best Friends, kicked off in July with a week-long adoption event, finding 157 cats and dogs loving homes.
Nationally, 2.3 million dogs and cats were adopted in 2023. Best Friends data shows that pet adoption declined over the last five years. as most pets are acquired through other means. The net result is that 415,000 healthy or treatable pets were unnecessarily killed in shelters last year.
“Roughly 7 million people in America are planning to acquire a pet this year, and if just 6 percent more people chose to adopt versus purchase their pets, we would end the killing of dogs and cats in our nation’s shelters,” said Julie Castle, CEO, Best Friends Animal Society.
To inspire those looking to add a pet to their home by choosing the adoption option, Best Friends recently kicked off their largest national campaign built upon the foundation that pets belong in homes not shelters. The ‘Bring Love Home’ campaign will bring awareness to the dogs and cats still being killed in shelters throughout the country simply because they don’t have safe places to call home.
Individuals can help save lives by choosing to adopt from a shelter or rescue group instead of purchasing from a breeder or store. Even if someone isn’t looking to add a new pet to their family, everyone can help end shelter killing by spaying or neutering their pets, fostering kittens or an adult dog, volunteering, donating for proven lifesaving programming for pets.
About the Dataset
Since 2016 when Best Friends set a bold goal to take the country no-kill by 2025, we’ve undertaken a massive effort to collect information from every shelter across the country. That meant starting at ground-level, because in 2016 no one even knew how many animal shelters there were in the country. Back then we collected data with volunteers doing records searches and calling shelters. In recent years, rather than working harder, we’ve learned to work smarter, and this year is the smartest yet.
*A 90 percent save rate is the nationally recognized benchmark to be considered “no-kill,” factoring that approximately 10 percent of pets who enter shelters have medical or behavioral circumstances that warrant humane euthanasia rather than killing for lack of space.
About Best Friends Animal Society
Best Friends Animal Society is a leading animal welfare organization working to end the killing of dogs and cats in America’s shelters and make the country no-kill in 2025. Founded in 1984, Best Friends is a pioneer in the no-kill movement and has helped reduce the number of animals killed in shelters from an estimated 17 million per year to 415,000 last year. Best Friends runs lifesaving programs across the country, as well as the nation’s largest no-kill animal sanctuary. Working collaboratively with a network of more than 4,800 animal welfare and shelter partners, and community members nationwide, Best Friends is working to Save Them All®. For more information, visit bestfriends.org.
***Best Friends Animal Society has the most comprehensive, accurate data for sheltered dogs and cats in the United States, which is collected from over 7900 shelters and rescue groups.
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Alina Hauptman (she/her)
Senior Public Relations Manager
Best Friends Animal Society
917-623-0585