By Erin Shackelford, Animal Welfare League of Alexandria (AWLA)
Alexandria, VA – Many animal shelters in the United States face overcrowding issues. Animals, especially dogs, are staying longer in shelters before being adopted. In 2024, 5.8 million dogs and cats entered U.S. animal shelters and rescues. While 4.2 million shelter animals were adopted, approximately 607,000 animals were euthanized. Adoption rates for cats increased in 2024, but as people increasingly turn to breeders, adoption rates for dogs have somewhat flatlined over the past two years. For the past 5 years, the length of stay for dogs in shelters has consistently increased, contributing to an ongoing capacity crisis.
Choosing adoption is certainly better for animal shelters and the animals they care for, but is it also better for the environment? Here’s a closer look.
Animal Overpopulation’s Impact on the Environment
Many under-resourced communities face a constant tide of stray and abandoned animals, with shelters and rescue groups working far beyond capacity. Shelters and rescue groups do heroic work, but housing, feeding, and providing medical care for thousands of animals across the country requires a deep well of resources. That effort generates significant energy use and waste to create and maintain comfortable and clean spaces for animals.
There’s also the environmental weight of medical care. Vaccines, preventatives, surgical supplies, cleaning agents, and pharmaceuticals all require manufacturing and disposal. High-volume spay/neuter programs and clinics, which are essential for long-term animal population control, rely on equipment and single-use products that generate both waste and emissions.
Rescue transports are another unavoidable environmental impactor. Rescue groups often coordinate transfers from overcrowded regions to areas with more adopters and better live outcome rates. These lifesaving operations send fleets of vans and planes crisscrossing the country every week. Each trip helps animals reach safety and the chance at a new home, but the carbon cost accumulates.
Adopt! Save a Life and Be an Environmental Steward and Community Hero
While the unavoidable environmental impact of sheltering animals is clear, so is the solution. Best Friends Animal Society estimates that if just 1 in 17 households that plan to add a pet to their family this year choose to adopt instead of purchasing (or about 6% more adoptions), we could save hundreds of thousands more pets annually.
Furthermore, by supporting local adoption agencies such as the AWLA, community members help manage animal populations humanely, reduce strain on municipal services, and help ensure resources remain within their community, which strengthens local social responsibility. In turn, this promotes a culture of care that values compassion, stewardship, and long-term thinking over disposability.
Sustainable communities are built on mindful choices that balance environmental health, social well-being, and ethical responsibility. Animal adoption is a powerful yet often overlooked pillar of a sustainable community. By choosing to adopt rather than buy, individuals reduce the demand for large-scale breeding operations that consume significant resources and often generate waste, pollution, and animal suffering.
In this way, animal adoption is not just an act of kindness; it is an investment in a more resilient, ethical, and sustainable community for everyone.
It is also a powerful form of environmental stewardship. In a culture that often churns out shiny, new, trending products on command, adopting an animal is like thrift shopping for the heart, where life itself is lovingly repurposed.
Learn More about Sustainability and Animal Welfare
The ALX Dog Walk and the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria (AWLA) have partnered together for this year’s ALX Dog Walk on Saturday, April 18. The event features a 2-mile fun walk, adoptable animals, a plastic art show, a sustainability festival, jam-packed goodie bags for all registrants, and so much more. Registration is now open! Register as individuals or teams and fundraise to support local animal welfare and sustainability efforts. Learn more at www.ALXDogWalk.com.
