Most recent data shows shelter killing at 4.2 to 5.5 million per year
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, December 1997:
The table below represents the third ANIMAL
PEOPLE biennial updated projection of U.S. animal shelter
intake and killing statistics, based on the most recent available
intake/exit data from every shelter or nearly every shelter
in particular states. Our method builds upon previous projections
based on smaller data samples, published in 1990 by
Andrew Rowan and in 1993 by Phil Arkow.
In October 1993, ANIMAL PEOPLE projected
from the data produced from a geographically balanced sample
of states totaling 40% of the U.S. human population that
the annual shelter killing toll, humane societies and animal
control agencies combined, might have fallen as low as 5.1
million dogs and cats per year––about a third of the thenprevalent
guesstimates by national organizations. Our 1995
projection, published in March 1996, was based on a geographically
balanced sample of states totaling 51.5% of the
U.S. population, and affirmed the 1993 estimate. However,
both the 1993 and 1995 projections undercounted the Florida
numbers by half, as we misunderstood Florida Animal
Control Association statistics to represent all Florida shelters,
not just animal control agencies. This year the FACA produced
a state shelter survey which does represent all Florida
shelters. We have accordingly corrected the previous error.
Unfortunately, the FACA data does not include a
breakdown of the numbers of dogs and cats killed in animal
shelters. Thus Florida and other states for which we have no
breakdown are excluded from our projection base for numbers
of dogs and cats killed––and that results in significant disagreement
between the totals if the national dog and cat projections
are added, and if total shelter killing is projected
without distinguishing dogs from cats. The dog/cat data projects
to a national shelter killing total of 4.2 million; the
undifferentiated data projects to 5.5 million.
Splitting the difference yields an estimate of 4.85
million, which we believe is probably the most accurate,
since many of the state counts are several years old and the
numbers in most cases seem to be steadily dropping.
We did check the current accuracy of the older state
counts by spot-checking cities for which multi-year data is
available, even when whole-state data is not. We found that
the oldest count on the list, published by the Texas Humane
Information Network in 1990, is still substantially accurate:
our spot-checks showed a gross decline in both animal shelter
intakes and shelter killing of only 1% during the past eight
years. However, over the same interval the Texas human
population has grown by 10.2%. In 1990, Texas shelters
appear to have handled 49 animals per 1,000 human residents;
in 1996 they handled 44 per 1,000, an 11% improvement.
Of states for which multi-year counts are available,
Indiana and Oregon both show slight increases in shelter
intakes and killing, yet well below rates of human population
growth of 4.7% and 10.5%, respectively, 1990-1995.
A noteworthy pattern, observed by various
researchers since serious pet population study began circa
1980, is that shelter intakes and killing as percentages of estimated
pet population are markedly lower in the Northeast,
higher in the Midwest, and highest in the Sunbelt: Florida,
Texas, California. Other researchers have ascribed this phenomenon
to cultural factors, but ANIMAL PEOPLE s u spects
a greater factor may be the relative likelihood that fallborn
homeless kittens and puppies will survive the winter.
Those above the snow line have greater metabolic needs, but
food is scarcer. The Florida, Texas, and California shelter
intake totals as a percentage of their respective owned pet
populations are no doubt as high as they are not because
Floridans, Texans, and Californians are less responsible with
their pets than say New Yorkers, but rather because Florida,
Texas, and California shelters receive far more kittens and
puppies who were never owned to begin with.
State %/U.S . Dog intake Cat intake Total %/pets Dogs killed Cats killed Total % pets Year / Tallies received from
CA 12% 533,000 504,000 1,037,000 7.4% 306,000 411,000 717,000 5.1% 1991, California Veterinary Public Health Unit.
CO 1% 84.365 58,867 143,232 8.9% 31,666 38,100 69,766 4.4% 1992, Humane Society of the Pike’s Peak Region.
CT 1% 28,192 18,845 47,037 3.4% 6,149 12,487 18,635 1.4% 1992, New England Fed. of Humane Societies.
FL 5% 478,367 477,236 1,009,821 11.0% 635,219 7.4% 1996, Florida Animal Control Association.
IA 1% 43,573 32,237 77,810 6.4% 23,094 24,700 48,653 4.0% 1991, Iowa Federation of Humane Societies.
IN 2% 188,344 7.5% 129,403 5.2% 1991, Spay-Neuter Services of Indiana.
MA 2% 23,591 50,156 73,747 2.8% 1,807 34,159 35,965 1.3% 1992, New England Fed. of Humane Societies.
MD 2% 116,427 5.4% 85,602 4.0% 1992, Calvert Animal Rescue League.
ME .5% 10,475 20,105 28,214 5.2% 2,536 11,661 14,197 2.6% 1993, Maine Federation of Humane Societies.
NH .4% 8,916 14,265 23,181 4.7% 2,177 9,332 11,509 2.2% 1992, New England Fed. of Humane Societies.
NJ 3% 113,928 3.3% 48,239 1.4% 1996, New Jersey Department of Public Health.
NY 7% 108,821 107,582 217,590 2.8% 38,492 59,735 98,714 1.3% 1991, Elizabeth Forel, for Spay/USA.
OH 4% 196,683 134,764 92,736 227,500 4.8% 1992, Diana Nolen; 1996, Toledo Humane Soc.
OR 1% 46,843 47,681 94,524 7.0% 17,923 28,527 46,679 3.5% 1996, Oregon Animal Welfare Alliance.
TX 7% 759,340 9.4% 597,591 7.4% 1990, Texas Humane Information Network.
RI .4% 6,087 8,644 14,731 3.5% 1,257 5,370 6,627 1.6% 1992, New England Fed. of Humane Societies.
WA 2% 72,330 75,283 147,613 6.3% 48,086 66,404 77,668 3.3% 1994, Progressive Animal Welfare Society.
UT .8% 28,000 3.3% 1996, Best Friends and Humane Society of Utah.
VT .2% 3,177 7,400 10,627 4.2% 1,072 4,648 5,720 2.3% 1992, New England Fed. of Humane Societies
U .S.: 52.3 % 4,385,120 4,266,903 8,652,023 7.7% 1,845,069 2 ,396,577 5 ,550,071 4.9%
Percentages of the national pet population are calculated from data published by the American Veterinary Medical Association.
