Best Friends Animal Society, a leading animal welfare organization that promotes pet adoption, no-kill animal rescue, and spay-and-neuter, recently RELEASED newly collected data that shows that the number of dogs and cats killed in U.S. animal shelters has increased for the first time in five years.
The number of dogs and cats killed in U.S. shelters increased from 347,000 (2020) to 355,000 (2021).
According to Julie Castle, CEO of Best Friends Animal Society:
“Unfortunately, the setback in lifesaving is largely due to the historic decreases in pets entering shelters in 2020,” said Julie Castle. “As shelters began to reopen in 2021 in increasing numbers, so did the number of pets entering their facilities. Over the course of 2021, shelters saw an 8.1 percent increase in intake, and sadly, the number of pet adoptions could not keep pace with the increased intake.”
RELATED:
No-Kill Animal Shelter Statistics – National Dashboard:
https://bestfriends.org/no-kill-2025/animal-shelter-statistics
PRESS RELEASE: Best Friends Animal Society Releases New Data Showing Increase in Number of Dogs and Cats Killed in U.S. Shelters for the First Time in Five Years (6.7.22)
https://bestfriends.org/about/media/best-friends-animal-society-releases-new-data-showing-increase-number-dogs-and-cats
PRESS RELEASE: Best Friends Animal Society Releases Data Showing Most Significant Annual Decrease in Animals Killed in Shelters (6.22.21)
https://bestfriends.org/about/media/best-friends-animal-society-releases-data-showing-most-significant-annual-decrease
- About 347,000 cats and dogs were killed in America’s shelters in 2020, down from 625,000 in 2019.