Animal lovers, take heed: You might want to start packing up your stuff and moving to Delaware if you’re compassionate about how shelters treat their animals. The state recently became the first and only to implement a “no-kill” policy for sheltered cats and dogs.

The state announced the exciting news at the recent Best Friends Animal Society annual conference. Best Friends Animal Society is a nonprofit animal welfare organization dedicated to performing outreach nationwide with shelters, rescue groups and members to promote pet adoption, and spay-and-neuter practices, among other initiatives.

“Last year, about 733,000 dogs and cats were killed in our nation’s animal shelters, simply because they didn’t have safe places to call home,” states Best Friends Animal Society. “Together, we can change that and achieve no-kill for dogs and cats nationwide by 2025.”

After the conference, the Brandywine Valley SPCA announced the news via their social media, also noting that they were recognized by Best Friends for their leadership and dedication in helping with achieving the milestone. “We look forward to saving more lives in Pennsylvania and Delaware while also helping other communities,” the post stated.

“The Brandywine Valley SPCA has a live release rate of 95% for the more than 14,000 animals a year we intake,” said Linda Torelli, marketing director of Brandywine Valley SPCA. “Within Delaware, we intake more than 60% of the animals entering shelters and more than four times the next largest shelter, so our policies have had a significant impact on the state becoming no-kill.”

In order for a state to be deemed “no-kill,” it must have a 90% save rate for all cats and dogs in its shelters. “We recognize that, for some animals, euthanasia is the most compassionate choice,” Best Friends Animal Society states on their website. “This is why the no-kill benchmark for save rate is 90% and not 100%.”

There are some cases when shelters don’t have a 90% save rate, but meet the “philosophical principles” of a no-kill shelter, which, according to the organization, are “ending the life of an animal only to end irremediable suffering” and “ending the life of an animal when the animal is too dangerous to rehabilitate and place in the community safely.”

Delaware has been on a mission to become a no-kill state and has long since implemented initiatives such as adoption events, trap/neuter/spay programs for cats that might not have been able to get adopted otherwise, affordable veterinary clinics, and much more.

What’s your community’s stance on no-kill? If you’re interested in viewing how your state is doing, head to the Best Friends’ website, which compiles data from the Shelter Animals Count national database, state and local government, and individual community members.

“We’re proud to play a leadership role in working towards a no-kill nation by 2025,” Brandwine Valley SPCA states. You can learn more about the initiative, lifesaving rates in your community, and how you can help here.

So which state is next to become no-kill? Check out the video below to find out!

What are your thoughts on states beginning to implement a no-kill policy at animal shelters?