Los Angeles has officially been recognized as a "no-kill" city for stray animals in shelters this week.
According to ABC 7 News, animal shelters in the City of Angels have managed to achieve a save rate of 90.49%, thanks to the "No-Kill Los Angeles" initiative launched nine years ago by Best Friends Animal Society.
ABC 7 News reports that when the initiative was first launched back in 2012, a mere 56% of dogs and cats were coming out of the city's shelters alive, while the rest were being put down due to overcrowding.
However, according to a new statement from the Best Friends Animal Society, the save rate reached just over 90% in 2020.
This figure takes into account the fact that approximately 10% of pets in shelters have medical or behavioral circumstances that lead to their humane euthanasia.
Commenting on the uplifting new figures, chief executive officer for Best Friends Animal Society Julie Castle stated:
"It's difficult to overstate the enormity of this moment and its place in the history of the no-kill movement. NKLA has demonstrated what's possible when an entire community works together.
"By expanding this collaborative model nationwide, Best Friends' goal to make every community in the U.S. no-kill by 2025 becomes even more of a reality."
Meanwhile, The Animal Society told ABC News: "Like many U.S. animal shelters, COVID-19 brought about a massive wave of community involvement to keep pets in homes."
According to The Independent, The Best Friends Animal Society worked alongside LA Animal Services and more than 150 coalition partners to ensure that citizens were able to foster and adopt pets despite COVID restrictions and the closure of two of the city's shelters.
General Manager of LA Animal Services Brenda Barnette stated: "Collaboration is key to saving lives and this coalition has certainly proved that to be true.
"We’re so grateful to Best Friends, our many rescue partners, staff, volunteers, and the community who responded to foster and adopt the animals in our centers during the pandemic, which helped us achieve our 90.49 per cent lifesaving rate by year-end 2020."
Now take a look at this video on the animal shelter looking for a volunteer snuggler: