Clay County Animal Services is celebrating another year of ‘no-kill’ status. The Board of County Commissioners recognized the shelter and its staff for the achievement at its meeting Tuesday night.
“This title highlights their tireless efforts and the extraordinary leadership within our organization, all working together to advance the animal welfare movement and to ensure every animal has a chance of finding a loving, forever home,” said CCAS.
Clay County Animal Services received recognition from county commissioners for again achieving ‘no-kill’ status.
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The Best Friends Animal Society recognized CCAS after documenting its intake and animal survivability over many months. The organization has an online dashboard dedicated to tracking no-kill status across the country, with a goal of helping every shelter hit that benchmark.
No-kill does not mean a shelter never has an animal die or face euthanasia; the title represents a save rate exceeding 90%.
“This percentage represents each life saved at our shelter, and it’s a direct result of the unyielding care and compassion our staff and volunteers show for our animals every single day,” said CCAS.
The spirit of no-kill is saving every animal that can be saved. According to Best Friends, nearly 2 out of every 3 shelters achieved the status in 2024. Still, it says a dog or cat is killed in a U.S. shelter every 90 seconds.
Huge progress has been made in recent years, with the number of cats killed in shelters reaching its lowest point in history in 2024. However, dog kills rose 6.2%, according to Best Friends.
Northeast Florida appears to be in a relatively good place, according to Best Friends’ online dashboard.
The following shelters are labeled no-kill:
Jacksonville Humane Society
Nassau County Animal Shelter
Clay County Animal Services
Union County Animal Control
Bradford County Animal Control
Jacksonville ACPS was rated “nearly no-kill,” with an 86% save rate.
RELATED: Intakes are up at ACPS Jacksonville, but so are positive outcomes
Data from Best Friends shows three local shelters that have provided their statistics are struggling to find positive outcomes for their animals:
Not being no-kill doesn’t mean you should avoid these shelters – quite the opposite. To achieve greater outcomes, funding, volunteers, fosters, and willing adopters are essential.
Proper pet containment, microchipping, and spay and neuter practices can also keep the shelter populations down, reducing the number of animals being euthanized for kennel space.
View the status and numbers of your local shelter on Best Friends’ no-kill 2025 dashboard here.
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