Best Friends Animal Society, a leading national animal welfare organization working to end the killing of dogs and cats in America’s shelters, released new data indicating Oklahoma saved 77% of cats and dogs in animal shelters across the state. This year, 10,100 more pets need to be saved for Oklahoma to achieve no-kill.
Of Oklahoma’s 104 animal shelters, 49 achieved or maintained no-kill status in 2024, and another 39 are fewer than 100 animals away from reaching that milestone. The state’s two largest shelters—Oklahoma City Animal Welfare and Tulsa Animal Services— saw a combined increase of more than 3,200 pet adoptions in 2024, both shelters are among the top ranking nationwide for the highest growth in adoptions. That same year, Best Friends Animal Society and Common Bonds, an initiative of the Kirkpatrick Foundation, partnered to accelerate lifesaving progress through strategic collaborations, training, and grant support for shelters across the state.
“Oklahoma is making meaningful progress toward becoming a no-kill state, thanks to the tireless efforts of shelters, rescue partners, and local communities,” said Sophia Proler, South Central Regional Director, Best Friends Animal Society. “With nearly half of Oklahoma’s shelters already achieving no-kill and dozens more within reach, we’re closer than ever to ending the unnecessary killing of pets in the state’s shelters. Continued collaboration, adoption, fostering, and community support are the keys to getting us across the finish line.”
To continue the lifesaving momentum and to reduce the number of healthy treatable cats and dogs unnecessarily killed in shelters, Oklahomans are urged to adopt or temporarily foster a pet. Volunteering, donating and advocating for pet lifesaving practices and policies are other ways to support local shelters and in order to achieve and sustain no-kill in communities throughout Oklahoma.
No-kill is within reach for hundreds of shelters across the country. Of those that have not yet achieved this benchmark, nearly half are less than 100 pets away from the milestone.
Best Friends’ latest annual data report shows Americans saved nearly four million dogs and cats from being killed in U.S. shelters last year. Best Friends attributes the positive pet lifesaving trend to the public’s increased support and demand for no-kill shelter programs across the country. Over the last eight years, shelters have seen a nearly 60% reduction in the number of healthy and treatable pets unnecessarily dying due to space.
“Millions of U.S. households will add a pet to their family this year,” said Julie Castle, CEO, Best Friends Animal Society. “If just 1 in 17 of those families chose to adopt from a shelter instead of purchasing from a pet store or breeder, we could reach no-kill nationwide. This is solvable – we can end the unnecessary killing of our nation’s pets – their lives are literally in all of our hands.”
In 2024, 4.8 million dogs and cats entered America’s shelters, down 12% compared to 2016. To put that in perspective, in 2016, over one million dogs and cats were killed in shelters. Last year that number dropped to 425,000— a 59% decrease, with nearly two out of three shelters achieving nokill. There has been a 10.5% decrease in the number of cats killed in shelters since 2023, meaning the number of cats killed in shelters is now at the lowest point in history.
To further lifesaving momentum, governors and legislators nationwide are aligning with no-kill trends as evidenced by 12 states having issued no-kill proclamations or resolutions since 2024 – including Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and West Virginia.
