On April 30, National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day, Georgia will recognize its commitment to taking the state no-kill*. Georgia’s House and Senate passed resolutions earlier this year declaring April 30, 2025 as “No-Kill Awareness Day” at the state capitol.

“No-Kill Awareness Day” coincides with Best Friends Animal Society releasing their annual dataset, which looks at the state of the state for animal welfare. In 2024, 20,100 dogs and cats were unnecessarily killed in Georgia. The data also shows that 67 of the 162 shelters in the state have achieved no-kill. Georgia’s resolutions show its commitment to take the 95 additional shelters in the state no-kill.

Best Friends, a leading national animal welfare organization working to end the killing of dogs and cats in America’s shelters, worked with state leadership on the initiative. To mark the occasion and welcome this pivotal step in Georgia’s pet lifesaving efforts, select shelters across the state will offer reduced or waived adoption fees for the day. Best Friends is sponsoring the statewide event to encourage more people to adopt.

“Best Friends applauds Georgia’s commitment to become no-kill and save the lives of homeless dogs and cats across the state,” said Julie Castle, CEO, Best Friends Animal Society. “If more Georgians choose to adopt pets from shelters instead of purchasing from breeders or stores, we are confident that the state can get to no-kill.”

Participating shelters include (list in formation, hours and fees vary, please contact shelters for details):

Bill Atkinson Animal Welfare Center, 884 Winder Hwy., Lawrenceville, GA 30045, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Bryan County Animal Services, 250 Dog Ln., Richmond Hill, GA 31324, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Bulloch County Animal Services, 81 Mill Creek Rd., Statesboro, GA 30461, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Camden County Animal Control, 1144 Godley Ave, Woodbine, GA 31569, 7:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.

City of Enigma Animal Services, 140 Bussey Street, Enigma, GA 31749, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
City of Millen Animal Shelter, 360 Perkins Rd., Millen, GA 30442, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Effingham County Animal Shelter, 307 Hwy 119 S, Springfield, GA 31329, 10:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Fitzgerald-Ben Hill County Humane Society, 106 Lions Park Rd., Fitzgerald, GA 31750, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Humane Society for Greater Savannah, 7215 Sallie Mood Dr., Savannah, GA 31406, 1 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Humane Society of Northeast Georgia, 845 West Ridge Rd., Gainesville, GA 30501, 12 p.m. – 6 p.m.

Moultrie-Colquitt Humane Society, 1412 1st. St. NE, Moultrie, GA 31768, 10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Oconee County Animal Services, 1171 Branch Rd., Biship, GA 30621, 12 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Screven County Animal Shelter, 915 Rocky Ford Rd., Sylvania, GA 30467, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Spalding County Animal Care and Control, 105 Justice Blvd., Griffin, GA 30224, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Thomasville Humane, 180 Big Star Dr., Thomasville, GA 31757, 1 p.m. – 6 p.m.

Currently, Best Friends’ data shows that nearly 2 out of 3 U.S. shelters are already no-kill. Nearly half of shelters that are not-yet-no-kill are less than 100 pets away from reaching the milestone, including 42 shelters in Georgia.

“We believe that Georgia can reach no-kill if people in every community do their part,” stated Castle. “This is a solvable issue when we work together, and I commend Georgia on taking this step to safeguard the lives of its pets.”

To help further pet lifesaving momentum, governors and lawmakers across the country are aligning with no-kill trends. Nine additional states have also issued no-kill proclamations or resolutions since 2024 – including Arizona, Arkansas, Montana, Idaho, Mississippi, North Dakota, Utah, Virginia and Washington.