For the first time in five years, the number of pets euthanized in U.S. animal shelters has risen, from 347,000 to 355,000.
According to Julie Castle, CEO of Best Friends Animal Society, this increase is largely due to the historic low numbers of pets entering shelters in 2020 during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
When shelters began reopening, more pets entered shelters, and adoption has not been able to outpace the intake of pets. Cats, who are euthanized at twice the rate of dogs, remain the most at-risk pets in animal shelters.