Shelter Pet Euthanasia Statistics

 Shelter Pet Euthanasia Statistics 

In 2013, 6-8 million animals entered shelters with the hope of becoming someone’s forever friend. Around half of those animals that entered shelters were euthanized and never found their forever home. That lead to around 3-4 million shelter animals euthanized that year. 

Factors Used for Deciding which Animals get Euthanized

One of the determinants in deciding whether a pet is euthanized is behavioral issues such as aggression toward other animals or people. Another determinant is the age of the pet because people tend to want more youthful animals rather than older pets, which may have increased health expenses. Pets determined unadoptable due to physical issues, poor temperament, or emotional issues are also euthanized. 

Several Shelter Animals are Euthanized specifically due to Overcrowding

10-25% of those animals euthanized in shelters were the result of overcrowding at the shelter. Shelters have limited capacity and limited resources for housing and caring for animals. There are seasons when shelters have an influx of animals being dropped off at shelters, which strains their resources. One of the influxes that shelters dealt with in the past was when people returned pets when they returned to work following the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Here is How You Can Help

How you can help is through adopting pets or fostering pets for a local shelter. People can find pets by looking through the adoption pages on the website or visiting the shelter. Shelters are always in need of financial support, and shelters also accept any material donations that people can drop off such as pet food, blankets, or toys. Shelters are always looking for volunteers to help with pet care or with just general duties. 

The Fate of Shelter Pets and How to Help

There are numerous pets in shelters that need a forever home. Even today in 2023, several animals are being euthanized because shelters do not have the capacity to hold them. Several factors play a role in determining which pets are euthanized such as behavior, age, emotional issues, and physical issues. There are several ways that people can help that include adopting and/or fostering pets, volunteering, and financial contributions or donations of supplies.