LA Officially Becomes 'No-Kill' City As Animal Shelters Achieve 90% Save Rate

March 21, 2021

Los Angeles has officially achieved "no-kill" status for the first time after achieving a save rate of 90.49%.

The milestone achievement was announced on March 10 by Best Friends Animal Society, a nonprofit that does nationwide outreach with shelters, rescue groups and members to promote pet adoption, no-kill animal rescue, and spay-and-neuter practices.

Best Friends Animal Society hopes to make every city in the U.S. no-kill in the next four years.

"It's difficult to overstate the enormity of this moment and its place in the history of the no-kill movement. NKLA has demonstrated what's possible when an entire community works together," said Julie Castle, the CEO of Best Friends Animal Society. "By expanding this collaborative model nationwide, Best Friends' goal to make every community in the U.S. no-kill by 2025 becomes even more of a reality."

A 90% save rate is the nationally recognized benchmark to be considered "no-kill," taking into account that approximately 10% of pets who enter shelters have medical or behavioral circumstances that lead to humane euthanasia rather than killing for lack of space.