JULIE CASTLE
AND THE NO-KILL NATION
One Woman’s Mission To Save Them All
In the world of animal welfare, few names resonate with as much urgency and hope as Julie Castle. As CEO of Best Friends Animal Society, Julie has become the face of a movement that many once deemed impossible: a No-Kill Nation — where every healthy and treatable animal is given a chance at life.
So how did Julie become this force to be reckoned with? How did she become the face of the future of animal welfare? Besides the decades of rising through the ranks at Best Friends Animal Society, the hands-on hard work, creating an endless stream of adoption campaigns and programs, it was a line in the sand that she drew for the entire country that catapulted Julie into the stratosphere.
In 2016, Julie stood on stage at a Best Friends conference and declared a national goal that America would become a “No-Kill Nation” by the year 2025. It was a watershed moment in animal welfare that no one saw coming. People who weren’t close to Julie or were outside of the animal welfare and rescue community scoffed. Those inside the community felt it was an unattainable goal given the gauntlet of laws requiring euthanization to address overcrowding at municipal shelters across the country. They were all wrong. Julie Castle, who I can only describe as a maverick, a modern-day “Warrior Princess” if you will, has defied every odd and will achieve her goal for our nation. A goal that has saved millions of animals’ lives and enriched many more millions of humans’ lives at the same time.
What began as a radical idea is now a near reality.
Let’s tackle the elephant in the room first, the term “no-kill.” It is often misunderstood, but in this context, it means that at least 90% of shelter animals are saved — the remaining 10% accounting for those too ill or dangerous to be rehomed. Don’t get me wrong, I wish no-kill actually meant 100% of all animals are saved, but we live in reality. Technically, this is Julie’s reality: one where honest, real statistics and data inform decisions and positioning for the community to rally behind. The truth of the matter is, just like humans, not all animals can be saved. There are those that suffer from disease or illness that we just do not have a cure for. It’s not like you can explain to an animal that they have cancer and are going to have to endure months of agony with no guarantee of being cured. Why would you want them to suffer? The answer is you don’t. And this is coming from a pet parent who in the last decade lost two of his own furbabies to cancer. So please understand I am speaking from experience across the board. And then there are those who are so dangerous, either because of a mental deficiency, disease or even potential severe abuse they have suffered at the hands of a human. In these instances, there is literally nothing anyone can do. So, the only solution, or rather the only humane solution, is to end their suffering. While you or I may not like it, that is a very stark truth. And it takes someone like Julie Castle and Best Friends Animal Society to take the data they have mined from thousands of organizations across our great land to understand that, communicate it and provide the rationale for why 90% is the minimum to be considered a no-kill shelter. All the while striving to get every homeless animal possible into a new, loving and responsible home.
A BOLD VISION
At the time of Julie’s announcement, the scope of the challenge was daunting. There was no master list of shelters. No reliable national data on how many animals were entering—and tragically, how many were dying—in the system.
Since then, the landscape has changed dramatically. “When I started in this field, 17 million animals were dying in shelters. Today, that number is down to around 415,000,” Julie said in our discussion. “It’s a whole different world.”
That change wasn’t accidental. It was the result of strategic planning, grassroots mobilization, and an unyielding belief that the system could be reformed. Julie and her team worked to build coalitions and partnerships, invest in data infrastructure, and launch national campaigns that elevated both awareness and action.
THE POWER OF DATA—AND PEOPLE
A key driver of this change is the advancement of both technology and analytics as well as the access to data. With tools that connect shelters, rescues, and advocates in real-time, the movement now operates with unprecedented insight. But Julie is quick to point out that data alone isn’t enough. It’s the people behind the numbers—the volunteers, shelter staff, and community advocates—who are making the difference.
That became especially clear during a tragedy in early 2025. A massive fire engulfed part of Los Angeles, threatening its already-overwhelmed shelter system. Within days, Best Friends’ national network activated. In an awe-inspiring show of solidarity, partner organizations helped move more than 1,700 animals out of LA to free up space for emergency rescues. “It was the first time I’ve really seen the network activate on a dime,” Castle said. “It was powerful. It reminded me just how far we’ve come.”
The network’s activation wasn’t just logistical; it was emotional. It reinforced the idea that rescue work isn’t isolated—it’s interconnected. That ethos has been a cornerstone of Castle’s leadership: that collaboration beats competition, and that collective impact outweighs individual recognition.
A NETWORK OF HOPE
That network is central to Julie Castle’s strategy. Best Friends’ approach isn’t to go it alone but to empower others—especially small, rural shelters—with the resources, support, and knowledge they need to succeed.
When analyzing which shelters had yet to reach no-kill status, Julie’s team made a striking discovery: nearly half of those shelters had only 100 animals or fewer to save in order to hit the 90% lifesaving benchmark. “That was our lightbulb moment,” Julie explained. “We realized we needed to shift from focusing just on the big cities to also empowering small shelters. That’s where the momentum could really build.”
In places like rural Texas and Louisiana, Best Friends staff and volunteers began knocking on doors—literally. “We’d show up and say, ‘Hey, we’re here. How can we help?’” Julie said. “For many of these shelters, they had never experienced that kind of support.”
That program has since become a model for scale and sustainability—one where success breeds more success. By tapping into experienced, no-kill shelters and giving them resources to mentor their struggling peers, the movement has created an engine of innovation and compassion that reaches into every corner of the country.
ADOPTION VS. BUYING: A SETBACK REVISITED
Despite the enormous progress, Julie acknowledged that challenges remain. One of the most frustrating is the resurgence of pet purchases from breeders and online marketplaces, a trend she attributes in part to pandemic-era shifts in behavior and perception.
“The plain truth is that the pandemic gave way to internet breeders that are creating even more problems. People are going back to buying pets, and we’re getting beat out by internet breeders and virtual pet stores,” she said.
But there’s good news too. In cities like Nashville and Chicago, Julie noted a new trend: shelters can’t keep cats on the adoption floor—because they’re flying out the door. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” she said. “That’s a trend I’ll take.”
Best Friends is working to address these adoption challenges through renewed community engagement, social media campaigns, and a return to grassroots tactics like mobile adoptions and public pop-ups—tried-and-true strategies that had faded because of the lockdowns but are now resurging with fresh momentum.
MORE THAN A GOAL — A MOVEMENT THAT IS GROWING
Julie is more confident than ever that the No-Kill Nation goal will be achieved this year. And with 2025 more than 25% underway, she and her team know with all of the work already in place, as well as national programs to help larger city facilities that have not crossed the no-kill threshold, success is in sight. But the deeper mission, for all of Best Friends Animal Society, is to build a lasting cultural shift. That means rethinking shelter architecture, investing in community-based care, and moving from a system of crisis response to one of preventive care and education. “We can’t get to that enlightened space if we’re still killing healthy, treatable animals,” Julie said. “Ending that is the baseline.”
She envisions a future where every community is an extension of Best Friends’ flagship sanctuary in Utah—an environment where animals are embraced as family, not discarded as burdens. “We have the wealth, we have the capacity, and we have the heart,” Julie said. “We just have to finish the job.”
To that end, Best Friends has begun working with urban planners, architects, and behavioral scientists to redesign shelters of the future—spaces that prioritize mental stimulation, natural light, and human-animal connection. It’s part of a broader goal to elevate the sheltering experience for both pets and people.
RETIRING THE JERSEY
One of the most poignant questions I asked in the interview was whether achieving the no-kill goal would put Julie and Best Friends “out of business.” Her answer was clear: “That’s exactly the point.”
“We’re not in the business of self-preservation. We’re in the business of saving lives,” she said. “The minute we start focusing more on building an organization than building a movement, we’ve lost the plot.”
In a world driven by competition and legacy, Julie’s humility stands out. “If every shelter in every community becomes no-kill, that’s our legacy. That’s the dream.”
Julie Castle knows that even if every shelter hits the goal, the need for compassion won’t vanish. Animals will still be born. People will still face hardships. Communities will still require infrastructure to care for their most vulnerable creatures. “The work will just look different,” she says. “It will be less about reaction—and more about prevention.”
CONCLUSION: A BLUEPRINT FOR COMPASSION
As the movement reaches its critical year, Julie remains a steady force—a leader who speaks with both data and deep empathy. She’s built something bigger than a nonprofit. She’s cultivated a national community that refuses to accept unnecessary loss as the norm.
The road to a No-Kill Nation is paved not only with best practices and programs but with a belief: that every life matters, and together, we can save them all. And if Julie Castle has anything to do with it—we will.
I interviewed Julie two years ago when I relaunched Pet Lifestyles Magazine. It is one of my fondest memories of the last few years. In November 2023, I stated, “If there is one key takeaway from this interview, it is that Julie Castle firmly believes in everything Best Friends Animal Society is and does, ‘At the end of the day, what this place embodies is just true grit. It is about the impossible becoming possible.’ Quite frankly, even as much as I know Julie, after this interview, these are the ways I can describe Julie Castle, the CEO of Best Friends Animal Society: Maverick. Brilliant. Humane. Compassionate Leader. Modest.” I believe in that statement even more so today.
I have a profound love and respect for Julie, not because of what she has achieved, but because of who she is. At the beginning of this article, I called this incredible woman a “Warrior Princess.” Some would ask why. My affinity for the pop culture lexicon aside, the reality is that Julie Castle embodies everything that a modern-day woman is; intelligent, strong, independent, beautiful and compassionate. But there is also something regal about her. Not in a snobby or stuffy way. But more something about her soul and the way she looks at life. Julie has defied odds that most would crater under in both her personal journey as well as in her many roles over her career at Best Friends Animal Society. So, it is with the balance of both being a fierce advocate and achieving impossible goals most can only dream of while possessing a compassionate compass, Julie Castle becomes the literal definition of Warrior Princess. And it is because of that fortitude, dedication and compassion that she will achieve her goal – the United States of America will become a No-Kill Nation this year. And I, for one, cannot wait to celebrate!
To learn more about Best Friends Animal Society, please visit bestfriends.org
