Join the battle for the heart and soul of America’s animal shelters.
The No Kill Advocacy Center is the leading organization working to end the killing of animals in shelters.
The no kill companion
The No Kill Companion is our new, annual primer on the state of the animal sheltering movement.
The definitive guide to animal shelter issues, The No Kill Companion is a reference manual for legislators, policymakers, shelter managers, media, advocates, and other stakeholders. With short encyclopedia-like entries, it covers the definition of No Kill, its history, opposition, challenges, controversies, threats to No Kill success, the state of the movement, costs and benefits of No Kill animal control, model legislation, shelter assessment tools, a glossary, and a primer on various sheltering issues, including temperament testing, community cats, and more.
The No Kill Companion is also available in packs of six, making it easy to distribute to your local City Council, Board of Commissioners, or other policymakers. To purchase a six-pack, please click here.
WHo We Are
Through legislation, litigation, consultation, education, direct assistance, and rescue, The No Kill Advocacy Center has been the leading force in the creation of hundreds of No Kill communities across the country for the better part of two decades. The Center was founded in 2004 by Nathan J. Winograd — who serves as the Executive Director.
Support Our Work
Donate to The No Kill Advocacy Center and give the animals still at risk the greatest gifts of all: life, love, home, and family.
Supporters receive No Kill Sheltering, our magazine for saving lives.
Ask Question. No Kill Answers
Please note that the AI model is still in beta and does not produce official results or statements. While it is learning, it may get some answers wrong. For this reason, the answers cannot be cited.
For verified answers that can be cited, please refer to The No Kill Companion.
No Kill Sheltering
Our quarterly magazine contains all the news to keep you up to date about the latest innovations and challenges in the sheltering industry.
About 4.5 million animals enter shelters every year.
Approximately 1 million animals are killed.
Less than 1% of shelter animals are irremediably suffering.
Roughly 30 million acquire a new companion animal every year.
We can stop the killing.
Shelters can and must end the killing of all non-irremediably suffering animals.
Millions of people live in communities saving between 98% and 99% of dogs and cats in their shelters.
Tens of millions of people live in communities saving between 90% and 99%.
The No Kill Advocate’s Toolkit
Whether you are a shelter director, legislator, rescuer, volunteer, or concerned citizen, our toolkit provides the background, step-by-step guides, and legislation needed to make your community No Kill.
A No Kill nation is within our reach.
Since our founding, there’s been a 90% drop in the killing of dogs and cats in American pounds. Despite an explosion in the number of animal companions, the number of dogs and cats killed has fallen from roughly five million annually to as low as one million today. Its been called “the single biggest success of the modern animal protection movement.” At the heart of that success has been the No Kill revolution in America.