Governor Cox signs Senate Bill 201 as Utah takes major step toward no-kill future

Governor Cox has signed Senate Bill 201. The new law will in­crease the number of dogs and cats saved in Utah shelters and establish consistent protocols for shelters and rescues across the state. Now, ani­mal shelters will be required to pursue all reasonable alterna­tives before euthaniz­ing a dog or cat.

Photo courtesy of Best Friends Animal Society.

Best Friends Animal Society, a leading na­tional animal welfare organization whose goal is to end the kill­ing of dogs and cats in America’s shelters and make the country no-kill, celebrates the historic milestone as another significant step toward becom­ing the largest no-kill state.

“Governor Spencer Cox’s decision to sign S.B. 201 into law is a monumental moment for Utah’s pets that will propel the state toward becoming no-kill,” said Julie Castle, CEO, Best Friends Animal Society. “Nationally, more than two out of three shelters are already no-kill, put­ting a future with no homeless pets within reach. Governor Cox’s continued leadership on this issue will also set a precedent for other states to pursue legislation that will save more pets’ lives.”

Governor Cox’s sig­nature on S.B. 201 comes just as new data from Best Friends shows that 57 of Utah’s 59 animal shelters are currently no-kill. The numbers show that in 2025, Utah saved 89.6 percent of the pets in its shelters. Despite sav­ing nearly 95 percent of the dogs in Utah animal shelters last year, approximately 1,200 cats were still unnecessarily killed in the state’s shelters.

No-kill means sav­ing every healthy or treatable dog or cat in a shelter and not kill­ing pets due to a lack of space. Best Friends recognizes that shel­ters sometimes face situations involving dogs or cats with severe medical or behavioral issues that need to be humanely euthanized; therefore, the bench­mark for no-kill is a save rate of 90 percent or greater.

“Best Friends data also shows that if just one in every 1,000 Utahns looking to wel­come a new pet into their homes chose to adopt over purchase their next pet, we would end the unnecessary killing of dogs and cats in Utah shelters. “After more than 40 years, it’s incredible to see Best Friends’ home state on the brink becoming the first no-kill state in the West,” said Castle.

To learn more about the data and how S.B. 201 will play a vital role in helping make the state no-kill, visit bestfriends.org.