Wyoming shelters reached no-kill for a full year

Best Friends Animal Society says every Wyoming shelter saved at least 90 percent of the animals in its care for 12 straight months, 92 percent statewide.

Verified · Source: Wyoming Tribune EagleOct 8, 2026 · 1 min read

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A black Labrador retriever looking toward the camera — Illustrative photo of a Labrador retriever. This is not an animal from a Wyoming shelter. Jason Oatman / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0

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Best Friends Animal Society has declared Wyoming a no-kill state, using the most recent shelter data it had. The Wyoming Tribune Eagle reported on October 8, 2026, that every shelter in the state saved at least 90 percent of the pets in its care for 12 consecutive months, and that the statewide rate was 92 percent. The mark was reached at the end of August. Wyoming joins Delaware, Idaho, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Idaho had reached the same mark in January.

No-kill, as the group uses the term, is a save-rate benchmark, not a claim that every animal lives. A small share of animals arrive with medical or behavioral conditions that keep them from being rehomed. The paper said Wyoming's remaining gap had been cats, and that rescues such as Second Chance Sheridan Cat Rescue took medical cases, kittens, and other high-risk cats from shelters around the state. The work now is keeping the rate there.