No Kill South Carolina Sprint to the Finish!

By DAN KROSSE

More than 40 state and national animal welfare organizations gathered in Columbia for the first-ever No Kill South Carolina 2024SM (NKSC 2024) State Summit. The “Sprint to the Finish” theme focused on finding every healthy, treatable and adoptable animal a home, with the goal of making the Palmetto State the first No Kill State across the southern U.S., from Atlantic to Pacific, and across America’s Heartland.

“This goal began as a dream in 2016, funded by Petco Love, and while we are so close to making this achievement a reality, there are still hurdles to clear,” said No Kill South Carolina Chief Project Officer Abigail Appleton, PMP, CAWA.

“We will discuss the state of animal sheltering, and problem solve remaining lifesaving obstacles, in light of new challenges such as a national veterinarian shortage, a difficult labor market and a rollercoaster economy.”

The Summit was held January 11 at the Cooperative Conference Center in Columbia.The 80 people in attendance contributed ideas toward reaching the finish line and achieving No Kill South Carolina. “There is no such thing as a ‘no kill shelter,’ only no kill communities,” Appleton said. “Becoming no kill means saving every healthy and treatable animal — a euthanasia rate of about 10% or less.”

A dozen national organizations participated at the summit, including Petco Love, the ASPCA, the Humane Society of the United States, Best Friends Animal Society and Petsmart Charities to name just a few. NKSC 2024 is a statewide initiative of Charleston Animal Society, South Carolina’s first animal organization and one of the oldest in the country.

Data Shows South Carolina Approaching Goal

NKSC 2024 made data collection a top priority from the start. In 2016, few communities were at the No Kill goal (shown in green), but that number has gone up dramatically since 2016 due to improved strategies, communications and statewide teamwork (see charts).

Last year the number of dogs euthanized in South Carolina open-admission shelters was less than half of what it was when the project started (12,000 to 5,700). For cats, the decrease is even more dramatic — euthanasia is only 18% of what it was back then (27,000 to only 5,000).

“Achieving the NKSC 2024 goal is an uphill battle in a state where shelters are underfunded, where we have no statewide regulations of animal shelters, no state-required training of Animal Control Officers and no required data reporting for all animal shelters,” said President and CEO of Charleston Animal Society Joe Elmore, CAWA, CFRE. “But we know that if South Carolina can do it, any state can do it; that’s why so many people around the country are cheering this effort on.”