SALT LAKE CITY — Animal advocates marked the one year anniversary of an initiative that aims to make Utah a no-kill state when it comes to cats and dogs in shelters, and Sunday they spoke about their progress toward that goal.
NKUT, or No-Kill Utah, is a coalition of 52 Utah-based animal welfare organizations that are working toward ending or drastically reducing the killings of cats and dogs in Utah shelters.
Arlyn Bradshaw, Executive Director for Best Friends Animal Society in Utah, said shelters in Utah took in about 61,000 animals last year and that of those, 77 percent were saved. He said about 13,800 animals were put down.
“Of those 13,800 we feel that about 8,000 of those cats and dogs were healthy, adoptable animals that deserve to be in homes, and so we’re working to ensure that they are saved,” Bradshaw said.
To achieve no-kill status statewide would mean getting a 90 percent save rate at shelters in Utah, which is something the coalition hopes to achieve by 2019.
Bradshaw said those who wish to help can volunteer time or money to animal groups, adopt an animal, or make sure their current pets are spayed or neutered.
For more information about NKUT, visit their website.
