HAMMOND — Governor Jeff Landry has officially declared April 30 as Louisiana Loves Shelter Animals Day, highlighting the state’s growing commitment to saving the lives of dogs and cats in shelters and becoming a no-kill* state.
This announcement aligns with newly released data from Best Friends Animal Society showing that nearly half of Louisiana’s 70 animal shelters have already achieved or maintained no-kill status in 2024. According to the data, 77% of dogs and cats in Louisiana shelters were saved last year and to make Louisiana a no-kill state, 12,900 more pets need to be adopted. Of the 36 shelters that haven’t yet reached no-kill, 13 are fewer than 100 pets away from meeting the benchmark.
Tangipahoa Parish Animal Services is proud to be part of this statewide lifesaving movement.
“We are honored to support this proclamation and be part of a growing contingent of animal shelters and rescue groups committed to ending the unnecessary killing of shelter pets in Louisiana,” said Chip Fitz, Director of Tangipahoa Parish Animal Services. “Every adoption, foster, and volunteer hour gets us one step closer”
In 2024, Louisiana shelters made lifesaving progress through collaborative and proven programming including expansion of adoption, foster, volunteer, community cat, managed intake programs e and increased access to veterinary care, which all contributed to positive lifesaving momentum across the state.
“Governor Landry’s declaration significantly propels the no-kill movement, encouraging the community to actively participate in helping to make Louisiana a no-kill state,” said Julie Castle, CEO of Best Friends Animal Society. “We’re proud to work alongside our incredible network of animal shelters and rescue groups across Louisiana who are driving this progress in their communities every day. We commend the Governor for leading this lifesaving initiative to help safeguard the lives of Louisiana’s dogs and cats.”
Best Friends Animal Society encourages residents to adopt from local shelters or rescue groups instead of buying from breeders or stores. Additionally, helping lost pets find their homes without entering a shelter—especially since 70% of lost dogs are found within a mile of where they were lost—can dramatically reduce shelter intake and stress.
Tangipahoa Parish and surrounding areas can support Tangipahoa Parish Animal Services by:
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Foster a pet in need
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Volunteer time or resources
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Spay or neuter pets
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Ensure pets are microchipped and have up-to-date ID tags
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Donate to support lifesaving programs
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Adopt
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Donate dog, cat food and laundry detergent
To view adoptable pets or to learn how to get involved with Tangipahoa Parish Animal Services, visit https://tangipahoa.org/.
For more information about Best Friends’ work in Louisiana or to view local shelter data, 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 working to end the killing of dogs and cats in America’s shelters and make the country no-kill in 2025. Founded in 1984, Best Friends is a pioneer in the no-kill movement and has helped reduce the number of animals killed in shelters from an estimated 17 million per year to 415,000 in 2023. Best Friends runs lifesaving programs across the country, as well as the nation’s largest no-kill animal sanctuary. Working collaboratively with a network of more than 5,000 animal welfare and shelter partners, and community members nationwide, Best Friends is working to Save Them All®. For more information, visit bestfriends.org.
