Adoptions Up, Euthanasia Down At Shelters In March

Euthanasia of cats and dogs at North American shelters declined year-over-year in March as more pets were adopted, returned to their owners and transferred out of shelters, according the March 2012 PetPoint Report published by Canadian company Pethealth Inc. today.

The report aggregated data from 1,004 animal welfare organizations using Pethealth’s PetPoint shelter management software in both March 2011 and March 2012, including 134,697 intakes and 128,706 outcomes for dogs and cats during the month.

Euthanasia of cats and dogs declined 19 percent and 12 percent, respectively, in March 2012 compared to the year-ago period. Live-release outcomes, including adoptions, returns to owner, and transfers out of reporting organizations, for cats and dogs in March 2012 increased 5 percent and 11 percent, respectively, compared to March 2011. In March 2011, the same outcomes for cats and dogs increased 3 percent and 2 percent, respectively, compared to March 2010.

Live-release outcomes increased year-over-year in March 2012 despite declines of 14 percent and 2 percent in cat and dog returns to owner, respectively, compared to March 2011.

“Despite the decline in returns to owner and increases in returns to shelter, the overall increase in live release outcomes demonstrates a favourable [sic] environment of the animal welfare community and a good start to the year,” said Brad Grucelski, vice president of PetPoint Solutions at Oakville, Ontario-based Pethealth Inc. “We see continued cooperation between groups mobilizing [sic] the cat and dog populations to increase adoptions and reduce euthanasia. This movement is particularly important at this time of year as groups prepare for the seasonal spike in the North American feline population that occurs when kittens begin arriving in spring.”

Other changes from March 2011 to March 2012, according to the report, include:

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