A
no-kill shelter is an
animal shelter where animals are only
euthanized if they are too sick to be treated or too aggressive to be suitable for adoption. No-kill shelters reject euthanasia as a means of population control. The
Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) estimates that approximately three to four million pets are killed yearly in shelters across the United States.
[1] The No Kill Advocacy Center and Alley Cat Allies claim this number is closer to five million.
[2] No-kill shelters are trying to end this killing by increasing the demand for shelter dogs and cats and reducing the supply by reducing the number of animals born and thus the number of animals which end up in shelters, and through increased spay/neuter, including low-cost/free help for low-income people.
The no-kill concept received a legal boost in 1998 when the state of California passed three pieces of legislation directed to reduce animal suffering at shelters in California the Vincent Law, which requires shelters to spay or neuter animals prior to release; the Hayden Law, which requires improved shelter accountability[3]; and the Kopp Law, which prohibited the use of carbon monoxide to euthanize animals.[4]
No-Kill shelters received a financial boost with the establishment of the $250 million Maddies Fund. A number of communities in the United States have received financial grants from this fund which they credit with increasing their live-release rate.[5] According to Maddies Fund, in America only about 20% of pets are adopted while the rest are from breeders and other source. By increasing that number by just a few percentage points, they believe that the problem of euthanasia of healthy cats and dogs can be solved.[6][7][8]
The No-Kill Declaration, published by The No Kill Advocacy Center and Alley Cat Allies, defines many of the goals of no-kill sheltering. These organizations claim that over 10,000 groups and individuals have signed this declaration.[9]
