A Very Good No Kill Year
An Animal Rights Article from All-Creatures.org

FROM NathanWinograd.com
December 2019

Today, more than ever, pet owners view their pets as irreplaceable members of their families and lives.

No Kill Advocacy Center

Despite whatever other calamities may have dominated the headlines throughout this most tumultuous of years, 2019 brought a lot of positive news for animals and people who love them. To quote Frank Sinatra: “it was a very good year.”

There’s been a 90% drop in the pound killing of U.S. dogs and cats since the 1970s. Despite a doubling of the number of animal companions, the number of dogs and cats killed has gone from roughly 16 million to as low as 1-1.5 million. Its been called “the single biggest success of the modern animal protection movement.”

Fewer people are buying animals and overall adoption rates for shelter animals and rescues are increasing. Of the $72.5 billion spent on caring for animals, the amount spent to purchase animals declined by 4.3% and is “the smallest area of total pet industry spend.” When it comes to adding a new animal to their household, more people are “turning to shelters and rescues.” That should improve as two states (California and Maryland) and over 400 U.S. cities have banned the retail sale of commercially-bred animals in pet stores, with many more trying to do so.

“Today more than ever, pet owners view their pets as irreplaceable members of their families and lives, and it’s thanks to this that we continue to see such incredible growth within the pet care community,” with the senior animal the fastest growing segment of the pet population.

Not only are people keeping animals longer, not only are they living longer, but two-thirds of pet owners in the U.S. will “adopt a senior dog as they believe they’re already trained and better behaved.” And that has spawned growth in the field of geriatric veterinary medicine, with specialized care and new treatments.

These are just a few of the positive trends noted in 2019.

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