Weslaco has a major animal killing problem.
In fact, an unbelievable 5,000 healthy, adoptable pets are killed each year in the Weslaco Animal Care Services facility, making it the highest killing shelter in the entire state of Texas.
We Can Stop the Killing – 2024 Update
First of all, we would like to congratulate and thank the City of Weslaco Animal Shelter for its lifesaving improvement in 2023.By increasing adoptions, and limiting the number of cats coming in from contracting jurisdictions, the city of Weslaco Shelter was able to reduce the number of animals killed at the shelter by more than 2000 animals in 2023 compared to 2022 and raise its save rate by more than 20 percentage points to 46%. This is truly great progress.
A 90% save rate is the nationally recognized benchmark for no kill. This benchmark acknowledges that a small percentage (not more than 10%) of animals entering most shelters may be too sick, or aggressive to be saved or responsibly rehomed in the community for whom euthanasia is the most humane outcome.
The City of Weslaco Animal Shelter is calculating its save rate by using an adjusted intake number. The adjusted intake number removes animals deemed sick, injured or aggressive from their calculations.In 2023, the shelter determined that more than 30% of animals it brought in were sick, injured or aggressive – amounting to just under 2,000 animals that were euthanized but not counted as a part of the shelter’s save rate.
Shelters should be more transparent with their communtiies by counting all of the animals that enter their shelter into its save rate calculations.By doing so, the community can have a more accurate understanding of the needs for the shelter so we can maximize the number of animals that are able to leave the shelter with a positive outcome.
The Problem
Weslaco Animal Care Services currently kills 58% more animals than the next highest killing shelter in Texas. Unfortunately, an overwhelming number of healthy dogs and cats both face a likely death sentence after they are taken to the Weslaco shelter.
65% of dogs that enter the shelter never make it out alive. For such a small community, Weslaco kills 1,000 more dogs per year than the next highest killing shelter in Texas.
Cats fair far worse with over 97% that enter the shelter are ultimately killed. Each year thousands of cats go into the Weslaco Animal Care Services facility and a tiny fraction make it out alive.
Weslaco Animal Care Services “saves” about 25% of the animals that enter the shelter while the average shelter in Texas saves more than 80%.
* Data based on actual sheltering data locally and from across the state.
More than 7 out of every 10 animals that enter the shelter are killed.
Many smaller local cities contract with Weslaco for animal services, which means that the dogs and cats in these communities also fall victim to unnecessary killing. We can stop the killing.
The Solution
It doesn’t have to be this way.
Until only a few years ago, two other communities in the Rio Grande Valley had similar kill/save rates as Weslaco but are now two of the highest performing shelters in Texas.
What changed?
Community leaders embraced free help from the private sector and instituted a series of simple reforms that radically improved the number of healthy, adoptable pets that found new homes after entering the local shelter.
There is a simple, cost-effective path to lifesaving in Weslaco
National sheltering organizations like Best Friends Animal Society have
offered free help. City leaders must take them up on it.
City leaders must adopt new policies that all successful shelters share:
Institute robust adoption and foster programs for pets;
Leverage rescue relationships to transfer animals;
Direct animal control officers to use non-punitive measures to work with owners to return animals and keep them home; and
Implement community cat population management programs to
sterilize and vaccinate outdoor cats.
These policies, plus the knowledge and support of sheltering experts, will transform Weslaco, just like they have transformed other communities in the RGV.
What is even more powerful is that with these changes, the animals in the local cities that contract with Weslaco for animal services will also enjoy better outcomes, find homes, and avoid unnecessary killing.
We just need our Mayor and City Commission to embrace this path forward and we can stop the killing. Together we are the solution.
Welasco Animal Killing Fast Facts
Nearly 5,000 healthy, adoptable pets are killed every year in the Weslaco shelter.
Only 25% of the animals that enter the Weslaco Animal Care Services facility make it out alive. The Texas average is 80%.
More than 7 out of 10 animals that enter the Weslaco shelter are ultimately killed.
Weslaco is the highest killing shelter in the entire state of Texas.
Weslaco kills 58% more healthy, adoptable pets than the next highest killing shelter in Texas.
A staggering 97.5% of all cats that enter the Weslaco shelter are killed.
Weslaco kills more than 65% of the dogs that enter the shelter.
1,000 more dogs per year are killed in the Weslaco shelter than the next highest killing shelter in Texas.
* Data based on actual sheltering data locally and from across the state.
Weslaco And Neighboring Communities Survey Results
77% of residents in Weslaco and neighboring communities own a pet and 83% of residents believe that pet ownership is important with 67% indicating that they think it is very important.
52% do not believe their local government is doing a good job in investing resources to address homeless and stray pet issues.
78% of residents agree that it should be the goal of the local shelter to decrease the number of animals killed. 56% of residents strongly agreed.
Over half of Weslaco and neighboring community residents said it was unacceptable to have a 2.5% “save” rate for cats and to have the distinction of being the highest killing shelter in Texas.
Access to affordable veterinarian care was listed as the third most important issue (behind only crime and infrastructure) for residents of Weslaco surveyed.
* Findings based on scientifically valid quantitative survey conducted on registered voters in Weslaco and neighboring communities.
Contact us
For media requests and inquiries, please contact us at
media@wecanstopthekilling.org