FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Best Friends Animal Society Media Contact:
Michelle Sathe, 661-803-2909 or michellesathe@bestfriends.org

LA Animal Services Media Contact: 
Agnes Sibal-von Debschitz, (213) 482-9512 or agnes.sibal@lacity.org
City of Los Angeles Shelters Reach No-Kill Status in 2020 with 90.49% Save Rate
Best Friends Animal Society’s No-Kill Los Angeles Initiative
Becomes a Reality in America’s Second Largest City
Los Angeles, March 10, 2021 – The second largest city in the country has become no-kill for the first time, thanks to the efforts of the city, L.A. Animal Services, a coalition of animal welfare organizations, compassionate leaders and a dedicated community.
 
When Best Friends first launched the NKLA (No-Kill Los Angeles) initiative in 2012, only 56 percent of dogs and cats were making it out of Los Angeles city shelters alive. In 2020, the city sustained a save rate of 90.49 percent.
 
“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, chief executive officer for 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 percent save rate is the nationally recognized benchmark to be considered no-kill, factoring that approximately 10% of pets who enter shelters have medical or behavioral circumstances that warrant humane euthanasia rather than killing for lack of space.

Like many U.S. animal shelters, COVID-19 brought about a massive wave of community involvement to keep pets in homes. LA Animal Services, Best Friends, and more than 150 NKLA coalition partners worked together like never before to ensure that Angelenos were able to foster and adopt pets despite restrictions brought about by the pandemic’s public health and temporary closure of two of the City of Los Angeles’s animal shelters.

The NKLA coalition steering committee members include Angel City Pit Bulls, FixNation, Heaven on Earth Society for Animals, Kitten Rescue, Kitty Bungalow Charm School for Wayward Cats, Michelson Found Animals Foundation, Paws for Life K9 Rescue, The Spay Neuter Project of Los Angeles (SNPLA), and Stray Cat Alliance.

“Collaboration is key to saving lives and this coalition has certainly proved that to be true,” said Brenda Barnette, general manager of LA Animal Services. “We’re so grateful to Best Friends, our many rescue partners, staff, volunteers, and the community who responded to foster and adopt the animals in our Centers during the pandemic, which helped us achieve our 90.49 percent lifesaving rate by year end 2020.”

Overall, the save rate in 2020 was achieved through a series of lifesaving strategies that included:

  • Embracing technology solutions for thorough and efficient adoption and foster placements.

  • Prioritizing the return of lost pets to owners.

  • Collaborating with private animal groups & the community

  • Operating 24/7 hotlines and providing resources on what to do if you’ve found a pet.

  • Increasing foster care programs.

  • Offering shelter intake-prevention services to lower-income pet owners.

  • Creating shelter intake strategies and alternatives to reduce on-site populations.

COVID-19 created some challenges for L.A. Animal Services, as it did for animal shelters across the country. However, it has also offered opportunities to transform shelters through expanded community involvement.

“By increasing fostering and programs that keep pets with their families, the future of animal sheltering is starting to look a lot like people’s homes,” Castle said. “This is so positive because a home environment is almost always preferable for pets. It also frees up space for the shelters to be able to focus on the most in-need animals in their care.”

Additionally, the LA City Council voted unanimously to certify the final Environmental Impact Report for its “Citywide Cat Program” and to adopt two related ordinance revisions. This includes Trap-Neuter-Return, an effective and humane way to reduce the population of community cats, which will be implemented by the City through its Animal Sterilization Fund. LA Animal Services is actively working to put guidelines in place for the program's future success.

“The Citywide Cat Program is a crucial step to ensure NKLA’s sustainability,” Castle said.
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LA Animal Services promotes and protects the health, safety, and welfare of animals and the people who love them, and is one of the largest municipal shelter systems in the United States. With six Centers across the City, LA Animal Services serves approximately 60,000 animals annually and responds to 20,000 emergency calls involving animals or people in danger. LA Animal Services is part of the Human Animal Support Services (HASS) international coalition, joining 38 municipal shelters and animal welfare organizations across the country to reimagine and transform the way shelters care for animals and their families, by offering access to resources to help keep families together; getting lost pets home quickly without having to enter the shelter system; providing food and medical assistance; and continuing to build on a strong adoption and foster program so pets find their permanent homes or are placed in foster care. Visit our link.tree for helpful links to the services and resources available to you and your companion animals. Connect with LA Animal Services and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.

Best Friends Animal Society is a leading animal welfare organization working to end the killing of dogs and cats in America’s shelters by 2025. Founded in 1984, Best Friends is a pioneer in the no-kill movement and has helped reduce the number of animals killed in shelters from an estimated 17 million per year to around 625,000. Best Friends runs lifesaving programs all across the country, as well as the nation’s largest no-kill animal sanctuary. Working collaboratively with a network of more than 3,200 animal welfare and shelter partners, and community members nationwide, Best Friends is working to Save Them All®. For more information, visit bestfriends.org or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
LA Animal Services | 888-452-7381 | LAAnimalServices.com