Scarinci: Fulop Leads the Way with No-Kill Animal Shelter

Mayor Steven Fulop’s Jersey City recently became the latest community to achieve no-kill recognition. Jersey City’s Animal Care and Control has been officially recognized as a No-Kill Shelter for 2025 in Best Friends Animal Society’s Annual Shelter Statistics Report.

No-kill shelters have saved the lives of millions of cats and dogs; yet, unfortunately, they still do not represent the majority of shelters.  Fulop and his team with no small support and encouragement from Jackie Fulop, will always be remembered in the animal rights and rescue community for achieving this great milestone in New Jerseys’ second largest city.

Understanding the No-Kill Designation

The no-kill campaign started in the 1990s, with the goal of encouraging communities to take proper measures to save all healthy and treatable pets from unnecessary euthanasia.

In 1994, San Francisco became the first no-kill city in the country. Several other communities across the country have followed suit. In 2019, the number of cats and dogs euthanized in U.S. shelters per year dropped below one million for the first time.

Today, there is still no universal standard for what qualifies as a “no-kill” shelter. Typically, to be considered no-kill, a shelter or rescue must have at least a 90% save rate for the animals in their care.  Save rate means the number of animals who enter an animal shelter each year and leave alive. The second criteria is that animals are only euthanized for severe medical or behavioral reasons.

No-kill shelters tackle pet overpopulation through a variety of measures. They offer free/low-cost spay and neuter services to reduce the number of animals entering shelters. They also offer retention services to help new owners deal with their pets’ behavioral problems in an effort to prevent animals from being returned to the shelter.

No-kill shelters also advertise heavily, offer reduced adoption fees, run fundraising campaigns, transport adopted pets to new owners, and maintain flexible hours to accommodate working families. Many rely heavily on volunteers and foster homes to take care of their animals and reduce the amount of time animals spend in shelters.

Mayor Fulop Animal Advocacy

Jersey City Animal Care and Control took over the shelter in 2024 after numerous complaints about the previous operators. Since the city assumed operations, over 1,000 animals were surrendered by owners. This year, Animal Care and Control successfully saved more than 90% of the dogs and cats under their care.

The Jersey City Animal Care and Control, which is a division of Department of Health and Human Services, has improved animal services with longer operating hours, 24/7 animal control response, free and low-cost veterinary care, and a robust public adoption and volunteer program. It also established a targeted Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) program for community cats, improved data transparency through monthly reporting, and significantly reduced preventable euthanasia by investing in preventative care and rescue partnerships.

Mayor Fulop credits the shelter staff, city officials, and the community of animal activists for being able to turn the shelter around so quickly. Fulop has long been aligned with animal welfare advocates and perhaps the most important animal activist in his life is the woman he married.

Jackie Fulop is a devoted animal rights and rescue activist.  She previously served as an executive board member for the Liberty Humane Society, one of New Jersey’s largest animal shelters from 2018-2023.  Among her many notable contributions to animal rescue, she helped raise over $300,000 to launch the first low-cost mobile spay and neuter program in Hudson County.

“Our goal in taking over shelter operations was to improve care, transparency, accessibility, and outcomes for animals and the families who love them,” Fulop said in a statement. “Today, those goals have been realized and then some, and the response has been overwhelming. It is incredible to see the love this city has for its animals.”

Establishing a no-kill community requires collaborative partnerships and coalitions among animal shelters, animal rescue groups, government entities, and community members working toward a common goal. Again, under Steven Fulop’s leadership Jersey City continues to serve as a model for the rest of the state.