Dogs and Best Friends supporters and staff filled the Hall of Governors Tuesday to celebrate Gov. Spencer Cox declaring 2024 as no-kill shelter year in Utah. “Whereas, achieving no-kill for all of Utah’s animal shelters is within reach, and would make Utah the largest no-kill state and the first no-kill state in the West,” Cox wrote, “Now, therefore, I, Spencer J. Cox, governor of the state of Utah, do hereby declare 2024 as no-kill shelter year in Utah.” The declaration encourages animal shelters to change policies to save pets’ lives.
In Utah, animal shelters increased from a 67% no-kill rate to a 77% no-kill rate from 2021 to 2022, according to an annual report released by Best Friends Animal Society.\u00a0
According to Best Friends, only 13 shelters in Utah have yet to reach no-kill status. Community cat programs and “trap-neuter-return” policies are alternatives to euthanasia practices.