By Mike Finney

Best Friends Animal Society, an animal welfare organization working to end the killing of cats and dogs in shelters by 2025, has named Delaware a no-kill state for a fifth consecutive year.

The state’s animal shelters have a save rate of 92%, and of the 14,680 dogs and cats that entered facilities here in 2022, all were saved.

Vermont joined Delaware and New Hampshire as no-kill states, meaning that every shelter in each of those states qualifies as such.

The society said Rhode Island, North Dakota, Maine and Montana are on the cusp of no-kill status, with a combined total of just over 300 dogs and cats to save to earn the designation.

A 90% save rate is the nationally recognized benchmark to be considered “no-kill,” factoring that about 10% of pets that enter shelters have medical or behavioral circumstances that warrant humane euthanasia, rather than killing for lack of space.

“In a year with lifesaving setbacks across the country, Delaware remained committed to saving all of the pets in state shelters,” said Audrey Lodato, regional director of the East Region for the Best Friends Animal Society. “Congratulations to all of the shelters, rescue groups, volunteers, community members and government officials who are dedicated to sustaining lifesaving for all pets.”

Best Friends’ data shows that the number of dogs and cats killed in U.S. shelters increased in 2022 to around 378,000, up from 355,000 in 2021.