SPRINGFIELD — Governor JB Pritzker has officially proclaimed August as Illinois No-Kill Shelter Month. This critical initiative underscores Illinois’ commitment to making the entire state no-kill*, which means saving every healthy or treatable pet in shelters.
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Best Friends Animal Society, a national nonprofit dedicated to ending the killing of dogs and cats in America’s shelters and making the country no-kill, applauds this proclamation as a meaningful step toward ending the unnecessary killing of dogs and cats in Illinois’ shelters.
“Governor Pritzker’s announcement marks a major milestone for the no-kill movement in Illinois,” said Julie Castle, CEO, Best Friends Animal Society. “We hope this proclamation inspires communities across the state to join the effort to get pets where they belong: out of shelters and into loving homes.”
According to Best Friends’ data, Illinois residents saved 82% of dogs and cats in shelters in 2025. Out of the state’s 150 shelters, 102 of them reached or maintained no-kill in 2025. Of those shelters that are not yet no-kill, 30 have less than 100 pets left to save. For a state to reach no-kill, every shelter in that state must save 90% or greater of the pets in its care.
"Illinois has made impressive progress in saving the lives of pets, but achieving a no-kill future for the state requires a collective effort from community members, animal welfare professionals, and elected officials,” said Castle. “Illinois residents can help by choosing to adopt their next pet from a shelter or rescue group, rather than purchasing from a pet store or breeder. Data collected by Best Friends Animal Society shows that if an additional one out of every 500 households in Illinois chose to adopt a pet next year from a shelter, the state would become no-kill.”
In addition to adopting, residents can help Illinois’ homeless pets by supporting local community cat programs, which focus on trapping, neutering, vaccinating, and returning outdoor cats to where they were found, and ultimately lead to more pets’ lives saved. Residents can also help by fostering for their local shelter or rescue group. Many shelters across the state need fosters for large dogs, who take roughly twice as long to get adopted, according to Best Friends’ data.
Illinois joins 22 other states who have declared statewide proclamations supporting the no-kill movement, including: Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and West Virginia.
To learn more about Best Friends and donate, visit bestfriends.org.
*No-kill is defined by a 90% save rate for animals entering a shelter and is a meaningful and common-sense benchmark for measuring lifesaving progress. Typically, the number of pets who are suffering from irreparable medical or behavioral issues that compromise their quality of life and prevent them from being rehomed is not more than 10% of all dogs and cats entering shelters. For any community to be no-kill, all stakeholders in that community must work together to achieve and sustain that common goal while prioritizing community safety and good quality of life for pets as guiding no-kill principles. This means cooperation among animal shelters, animal rescue groups, government agencies, community members and other stakeholders, all committed to best practices and protocols.
About Best Friends Animal Society
Best Friends Animal Society is a leading animal welfare organization dedicated to saving the lives of dogs and cats in America's shelters and making the entire country no-kill. Founded in 1984, Best Friends runs lifesaving facilities and programs nationwide in partnership with more than 6,000 shelters and rescue organizations. From our headquarters in Kanab, Utah, we also operate the nation's largest no-kill animal sanctuary — a destination that brings our mission to life for thousands of visitors each year. We maintain the most comprehensive animal sheltering data in the country and make it accessible to the public — empowering communities with critical insights into the needs of their local shelters and how they can help. We believe every dog and cat deserves a home. And we believe that, by working together, we can Save Them All®.
***Best Friends Animal Society has the most comprehensive and accurate data in the industry, providing key insights and analytics from more than 10,000 shelters and rescue groups across the United States.
Check out Best Friends latest data HERE.
