To be considered no-kill, organizations need to have a placement rate of 90% or higher. Why? Check out these four facts about no-kill, what it means, and why AHS doesn’t use it. It’s language we don’t ― and we won’t ― use, to describe ourselves or any other animal rescue agency. However, we’ve made a deliberate decision NOT to identify as a no-kill organization.

Since 2015, AHS has met or exceeded that 90% standard - meaning we meet the qualifications to be considered no-kill. To be considered no-kill, a shelter or rescue has to have at least a 90% placement rate for the animals in their care. And as funding grew, the number of healthy and treatable animals being euthanized decreased.īut a label once meant to unite communities in saving animal lives now divides the animal welfare industry. According to Shelter Animals Count, a national database that began gathering shelter data in 2011, adoption numbers have more than quadrupled over the last decade. As adoption became more popular with the public, shelters were able to gain more funding, which helped build larger facilities, hire more staff to care for (and help rehabilitate) animals, and purchase better medical equipment. The no-kill campaign asked for a commitment from communities to take proper measures to save all healthy and treatable pets from unnecessary euthanasia.Īnd it worked. No-kill was formed as a response to the overwhelming numbers of healthy animals being euthanized in shelters across the United States. Shelter animals were often seen as a less desirable, broken alternative for those who couldn’t afford a purebred animal.

At the time, a common way to obtain a dog or cat was to go to your local breeder. The term “no-kill” comes from a movement that began in the 1980s and 90s. While it seems straightforward, there’s more to this label than you might think. It’s also become an important label that many look for when determining if a rescue organization is worthy of their support. It’s a common term in the animal welfare industry.

Definition shelter 3 letters