For example, were you aware that in 1997, the National Council on Pet Population Study and Policy conducted a study to gather and analyze reliable data that further characterize the number, origin, and disposition of pets (dogs and cats) in the United States?
Using the National Council's numbers from 1997 and estimating the number of operating shelters in the United States to be 3,500 (the exact number of animal shelters operating in the United States does not exist), American Humane (http://www.americanhumane.org), one of the founding members of the Council, released the following the statistics:
- Of the 1,000 shelters that replied to the National Council's survey, 4.3 million animals were handled.
- In 1997 roughly 64% of the total number of animals that entered shelters were euthanized -- approximately 2.7 million animals in just these 1,000 shelters. These animals may have been put down due to overcrowding, but may have been sick, aggressive, injured, or suffered something else.
- 56% of dogs and 71% of cats that enter animal shelters are euthanized. More cats are euthanized than dogs because they are more likely to enter a shelter without any owner identification.
- Only 15% of dogs and 2% of cats that enter animal shelters are reunited with their owners.
- 25% of dogs and 24% of cats that enter animal shelters are adopted.
It is from these numbers that the American Humane estimated what is occurring nationwide. It is widely accepted that 9.6 million animals are euthanized annually in the United States.
For more information on the studies done by the National Council, please visit www.petpopulation.org
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