EDWARDSVILLE — Madison County’s Animal Care and Control maintained its no-kill status for the third year in a row.
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“This is a huge milestone,” Chairman Kurt Prenzler said.
Shelters with a live or save outcome rate of above 90 percent are considered no-kill. Madison County’s save rate for 2020 was 97 percent for dogs and 98 percent for cats.
Prenzler praised animal control and the rescue groups for all the work they do to save the lives of the cats and dogs brought into Madison County.
“This is a combined effort between animal control and the rescues,” Prenzler said. “Without their help we wouldn’t be able to do this. We reached our goal long before the anticipated date set by the County Board.”
In March 2017, the Madison County Board passed a resolution for the county to become no-kill by Dec. 31, 2021.
Prenzler said before he became chairman, the county euthanized more than two-thirds of the cats and one-third of the dogs brought into animal control.
Animal Control Manager Katherine Conder said the success comes from the relationship between the county and rescue groups along with a variety of policy changes.
“Every healthy dog and cat is finding its way into a home,” Conder said. “It’s what they deserve. It takes a team effort to do what we do.”
Conder said 42 Illinois rescues took the animals as well as 12 from out-of-state. Metro East Humane Society and Partners for Pets still take the majority of cats and dogs from animal control.
“I am so proud what we were able to accomplish this past year,” she said. “We hope to do even more this year.”
Prenzler said the county has come a long way since passing the resolution.
“The numbers speak volumes,” he said.
Over the past five years, the number of dogs and cats saved include:
- 2016 — 796
- 2017 — 931
- 2018 — 1,309
- 2019 — 1,393
- 2020 — 1,356
Here are some of the 2020 numbers:
- 1,205 animals were transferred to rescue groups
- 139 dogs were returned to their owners
- 12 cats were returned to their owners
- 1 potbellied pig went to a farm
- 1 rabbit went to a rescue group
Visit https://www.co.madison.il.us/departments/animal_control/statistics.php. For more information on Madison County’s animal control statistics.
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