Shelters throughout the state of Virginia are proving that the difference between a "high-kill" and "no-kill" shelter is not the resources available to the shelter, but putting best practices in place to save the most animals possible.

As more shelters learn about these best practices, and as overall pet population continues to drop, Virginia can see better and better outcomes from shelters. The public is solidly behind this idea. The argument as to whether or not a shelter should have life-saving as its goal is no longer a question -- it is now a matter of law.

Unfortunately, the only way to measure percentage of lives being saved is to literally count them. Trying to use what "seems" or "feels" right as a guideline is not practicable. Evaluating written policies or goals does not necessarily reflect actual lives being saved.

My suggestion would be to set adoption or transfer to a no-kill facility standards, starting slightly lower than the median, and re-evaluating every two years, raising the bar gradually as things continue to improve.

A compromise like this will help prevent shelters that deliberately kill most of the animals coming in, while giving struggling shelters something to aim for with their communities.

Thank you