⚫ Tens of thousands of animals enter NJ animals shelters on a yearly basis
⚫ Some are killed simply in order to make space in the facility
⚫ Adoptions are on the decline
Across the country, hundreds of thousands of pets are unnecessarily killed at animal shelters each year.
A new report from Best Friends Animal Society suggests that shelters in New Jersey do a better job than many other states when it comes to keeping their animals alive and delivering them to new families. But in a one-year period, still more than 1,800 cats and dogs were killed at shelters across the Garden State.
Almost all of the animals that were unnecessarily killed in New Jersey during 2023 were cats, according to the report. Some pets may have to be euthanized due to severe medical conditions or behavioral concerns, but some deaths occur simply because a facility doesn’t have enough space or manpower to operate.
At the same time, advocates say, adoptions are on the decline since the coronavirus pandemic.
“Roughly 7 million people in America are planning to acquire a pet this year, and if just 6% more people chose to adopt versus purchase their pets, we would end the killing of dogs and cats in our nation’s shelters,” said Julie Castle, CEO of Best Friends Animal Society.
No-kill goal at New Jersey shelters
There’s a general goal of reaching “no-kill” status in the country in 2025. That requires a save rate of at least 90% at shelters.
In 2023, according to the report, New Jersey posted a save rate of 89.5%. Close to 58,000 cats and dogs were saved.
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Gloucester, Ocean and Burlington counties account for roughly half of the cat lifesaving gap in the Garden State, according to the report.
“Several communities in New Jersey still have significant lifesaving gaps for cats due to failure to implement nationally recognized best practices around Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return at the municipal shelter level,” said Aurora Velazquez, regional director for Best Friends Animal Society.
Bills re-introduced in the New Jersey Legislature would provide funding to communities to ensure that stray cats in shelters are spayed or neutered, and vaccinated against rabies.
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Income that a family of 4 needs in every NJ county
Here’s what MIT’s Living Wage Calculator says a couple with two children needs in each New Jersey county to simply squeak by.
Gallery Credit: MIT Living Wage Calculator
States with best and worst lifetime tax burden
Gallery Credit: Erin Vogt
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