Best Friends Animal Society Launches Nationwide "Bring No-Kill Home Summits"

Communities Nationwide will Gather and Advocate to End the Killing of Pets in U.S. Shelters in 2025

KANAB, Utah, Dec. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Best Friends Animal Society, a leading national animal welfare organization working to end the killing of cats and dogs in America's shelters in 2025, has announced a series of dynamic summits in key locations across the United States. The events, which are scheduled throughout 2025, aim to catalyze community-driven change towards saving more pets in U.S. shelters, two-thirds of which have already achieved no-kill.*

"Each summit is designed to unite communities around Best Friends' goal to get more dogs and cats out of our nation's shelters and into loving homes and to keep pets from entering shelters to begin with," said Julie Castle, CEO, Best Friends Animal Society. "This year is not just a milestone, but a testament to the power of commitment and change. Now more than ever, it's crucial for individuals to recommit to their city's at-risk pets."

• Little Rock, Arkansas – February 1, 2025
  • Highlights: Legislation impacting pets in Arkansas including breed specific legislation, the barrier it poses in Arkansas, as well as other programmatic solutions when appropriate.
• Cherry Hill, New Jersey – March 1, 2025
  • Highlights: Legislation that will impact the Garden State's cat community in 2025 and how to help pass a bill to save even more pets.
• Chicago, Illinois – March 30, 2025
  • Highlights: Best Friends CEO, Julie Castle, will be in person at the Chicago summit inspiring the community to help take the nation no-kill.
• Pomona, California – April 5, 2025
  • Highlights: Best Friends CEO, Julie Castle, will be on site at the Los Angeles summit to inspire Angelenos to advocate and take the city and nation no-kill.
• Provo, Utah – May 10, 2025
  • Highlights: Community members can learn how to support and collaborate with Best Friends and local shelter and rescue group partners to help Utah become no-kill.

For those who are not local to one of the five in-person summits, Best Friends will also be hosting a virtual summit. Interested parties can learn more here.

"Driving national change through local action is at the heart of these summits, and each event will have a tailored, local approach to amplify the unique strengths and needs of its host city," said Laura Donahue, Senior Director, Advocacy and Network, Best Friends Animal Society. "Through informative workshops and networking opportunities, we'll empower attendees to spearhead change in their local shelters. These events will also showcase the progress and real-life stories of animals and communities transformed by the no-kill movement."

According to Best Friends data, adoptions are on track to mark the first positive national trend in pet lifesaving since 2020, when pet acquisitions increased but adoptions from shelters stalled. Pet adoption is a critical factor in helping shelters to become no-kill. Currently, a majority of all U.S. shelters are considered no-kill, with only about 1,400 shelters remaining that haven't achieved or maintained no-kill.  

To learn more about these events, please visit bestfriends.org/advocacy/bring-no-kill-home-summits.

To learn more about Best Friends, visit bestfriends.org.

* No-kill is defined by a 90% save rate for animals entering a shelter and is a meaningful and common-sense benchmark for measuring lifesaving progress. Typically, the number of pets who are suffering from irreparable medical or behavioral issues that compromise their quality of life and prevent them from being rehomed is not more than 10% of all dogs and cats entering shelters. For any community to be no-kill, all stakeholders in that community must work together to achieve and sustain that common goal while prioritizing community safety and good quality of life for pets as guiding no-kill principles. This means cooperation among animal shelters, animal rescue groups, government agencies, community members and other stakeholders, all committed to best practices and protocols.

About Best Friends Animal Society
Best Friends Animal Society is a leading animal welfare organization working to end the killing of dogs and cats in America's shelters and make the country no-kill in 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 415,000 last year. Best Friends runs lifesaving programs across the country, as well as the nation's largest no-kill animal sanctuary. Working collaboratively with a network of more than 5,000 animal welfare and shelter partners, and community members nationwide, Best Friends is working to Save Them All®. For more information, visit bestfriends.org.

SOURCE Best Friends Animal Society