Earlier this month, Gov. Kelly Ayotte designated September as No Kill Month in New Hampshire, joining 19 other states in declaring a commitment to saving thousands of animals’ lives.
“As a dog owner myself, I’m so proud that New Hampshire is a no-kill state,” Ayotte said in a statement. “This is thanks to the life-saving work of so many fantastic organizations that help pets in need find forever homes. I encourage anyone who might be looking to add a new member to their family to consider adopting a pet from one of our great local rescues.”
Eric Swafford, director of legislation and campaign strategy at Best Friends Animal Society, said it’s been exciting to see states across the country adopt no-kill proclamations.
“This is something that everybody wants, that everybody can get behind,” he said.
But what exactly does ‘no-kill’ mean?
In order to be considered a no-kill shelter, an organization must save at least 90% of all animals that enter its doors. Pets who suffer from medical or behavioral issues that impact their quality of life are still euthanized at these shelters, but these cases typically do not make up more than 10% of all pets that come in during a given year.
New Hampshire was named a no-kill state in 2021, meaning shelters in the Granite State committed to sparing a vast majority of their animals that year.
However, New Hampshire has no specific laws requiring shelters to report how many pets they put down or the reason why each animal was euthanized.
Best Friends Animal Society has publicly available data about save rates on 11 shelters in New Hampshire. The organization identified 20 animal shelters and rescues on their map, and there are dozens more shelters operating in the state.
Swafford said he is encouraged to see 20 governors across the country publicly dedicate a day, a week or a month to seeing fewer pets euthanized without cause.
“We know we’re going to see a day when there are no healthier, treatable dogs or cats killed in shelters,” he said. “And I look forward to being able to celebrate that day when there’s no more unnecessary killing of dogs and cats in shelters.”