Victoria is the only state or territory in Australia with mandatory pound and shelter reporting. It's a big deal, and it matters. It's how we keep our finger on the pulse of what's actually happening in animal welfare, so we can stay science-backed, use up-to-date research, and support the people and pets who need it most.
It's worth being clear about what this data does and doesn't cover: it's limited to registered pounds and shelters with a physical premise. Animal rescues are not included — they're largely unregulated in Victoria and have no mandatory reporting requirement.
With that scope in mind, here's what three years of data — 2023, 2024, and 2025 — tell us.
How many cats and dogs are coming through the system?
Cats and dogs admitted to pounds & shelters in VIC
| Year | Dogs admitted | Cats admitted | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 29,232 | 46,280 | 75,512 |
| 2024 | 27,916 | 45,119 | 73,035 |
| 2025 | 27,859 | 47,581 | 75,440 |
Dog intake has been trending down each year. Cats dipped in 2024, then rebounded above 2023 levels in 2025.
It's great to see a continued decline in dogs entering pounds and shelters — though that decline is slowing, with dog intake falling only 0.2% from 2024 to 2025. Cats are heading the other way: intake climbed 5.4% year-on-year over the same period.
Where do they go? Reclaimed, re-homed, and transferred
Dogs
| Year | Admitted | Reclaimed | Re-homed (adopted) | Transferred out | Total out | % out |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 29,232 | 14,672 | 7,749 | 3,335 | 25,756 | 88.1% |
| 2024 | 27,916 | 13,498 | 7,671 | 3,552 | 24,721 | 88.6% |
| 2025 | 27,859 | 13,009 | 7,261 | 4,201 | 24,471 | 87.8% |
Cats
| Year | Admitted | Reclaimed | Re-homed (adopted) | Transferred out | Total out | % out |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 46,280 | 3,355 | 21,056 | 9,232 | 33,643 | 72.7% |
| 2024 | 45,119 | 3,170 | 19,429 | 7,794 | 30,393 | 67.4% |
| 2025 | 47,581 | 3,050 | 20,429 | 9,466 | 32,945 | 69.2% |
The gap between the two species is stark. Roughly half of admitted dogs are reclaimed by their original owner — but only around 6–7% of cats are. Cats rely far more heavily on re-homing to find a way out of the system.
Euthanasia: the numbers we can't look away from
| Year | Dogs euthanised | Cats euthanised | Total | Dog euth. rate | Cat euth. rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2,465 | 11,570 | 14,035 | 8.4% | 25.0% |
| 2024 | 3,039 | 12,666 | 15,705 | 10.9% | 28.1% |
| 2025 | 2,907 | 12,677 | 15,584 | 10.4% | 26.7% |
Cats are euthanised at roughly three times the rate of dogs, every single year. Both species saw euthanasia numbers jump from 2023 to 2024, and have held roughly steady since — even as dog intake kept falling. That combination means a growing share of the dogs coming through the system are being euthanised, not just a growing number.
Euthanised due to behaviour
| Year | Dogs | Cats |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 1,421 | 1,608 |
| 2024 | 1,665 | 2,024 |
| 2025 | 1,148 | 2,606 |
Dog behaviour euthanasia rose in 2024, then dropped back below 2023 levels in 2025. Cats moved in the opposite direction entirely — a steady climb every year, up 62% from 2023 to 2025.
Euthanised due to "unsuitability for sale"
| Year | Dogs | Cats |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 525 | 790 |
| 2024 | 811 | 755 |
| 2025 | 1,130 | 603 |
This is a striking crossover. Dog euthanasia under "unsuitability for sale" has more than doubled since 2023 — 525 up to 1,130. Cats have fallen steadily over the same period, 790 down to 603. By 2025, more dogs than cats were being euthanised for this reason — the exact reverse of where things stood in 2023.
What does "unsuitability for sale" actually mean?
It's one of the legally permitted euthanasia reason codes under the Code of Practice for the Management of Dogs and Cats in Shelters and Pounds. It's assessed after an animal completes its mandatory 8-day quarantine period, when a vet or experienced staff member examines the animal specifically to assess its suitability for sale.
The Code spells out part of what this means in practice: aggressive or anti-social animals, or those with known vices such as excessive barking or habitual escaping, must not be made available for sale. Animals with a health defect can still be sold if a vet judges it doesn't significantly affect quality of life — but if it does, that counts against suitability too.
In effect, "unsuitability for sale" is a catch-all category, distinct from the specific "behaviour" and "disease" codes. It can cover:
- Habitual escaping
- Known nuisance vices, like persistent excessive barking
- General temperament or sociability assessments that don't meet the bar for the specific "significant behaviour" code
- Broader suitability judgement calls left to shelter staff discretion — the Code doesn't mandate a strict checklist here
Our take: looking at the data, it's hard not to conclude that pounds and shelters are increasingly using the "unsuitability for sale" category in their mandatory reporting instead of the behavioural code. Between the two categories combined, behavioural and unsuitability reasons are consistently the leading drivers of euthanasia in Victorian pounds.
The Lost Dogs' Home, and the Cat Crisis
Cat euthanasia overall has continued to climb, and the two largest facilities in the state show why.
- The Lost Dogs' Home, North Melbourne admitted 7,958 cats in 2025 and euthanised 2,996 — a 37% euthanasia rate.
- The Lost Dogs' Home, Cranbourne admitted 5,154 cats and euthanised 2,086 — a 40.5% euthanasia rate.
Between just these two sites, over 5,000 cats were euthanised in 2025 alone.
Our thoughts
Behavioural reasons — and animals being surrendered because of behavioural challenges — continue to be a major driver of what's happening in pounds and shelters. And cats, in particular, are bearing the brunt of it.
A few things feel true to us, looking at this data:
- We need more legislation to protect cats. The gap in outcomes between dogs and cats — in reclaim rates, in euthanasia rates, in trend direction — is too wide to ignore.
- Cats and dogs can't be rehabilitated in a pound or shelter environment. It's a stressful setting, and it's not designed for behavioural rehabilitation.
- The people working in these facilities are often overworked, understaffed, and not always equipped to make the kinds of difficult, high-stakes calls this data reflects.
None of this is a criticism of pounds themselves — they're a crucial, important service. Our tax contributions fund them, and they exist to reunite lost animals with their owners and give surrendered animals a path to a new home. The pressures they're working under, though, are real and showing up in the numbers.
What needs to happen
- Proactive care. If you're struggling with behavioural challenges with your pet, get in touch before it's too late.
- Keep people with their pets. If someone is struggling to afford care, find out what support services are available.
- Support animal welfare organisations like ours. We need more funding and support to keep doing this work.
- Register, microchip, and de-sex your pet. It's one of the simplest things every owner can do.
These views are the writer's own. They're not intended to be disrespectful of the people and organisations doing this work every day — they're offered in the spirit of looking openly at animal welfare in Victoria, and figuring out, together, how we solve it.
Source: Animal Welfare Victoria — Shelter and pound data
