Everything here comes from public records: Georgia Department of Agriculture license data, IRS 990 filings, and peer-reviewed studies. We did the compiling so lawmakers don't have to take our word for it.
300 : 1
The burden of a public crisis has been shifted onto underfunded volunteers. This ratio is derived by our coalition from the public records described below.
licensed private rescues with documented annual expenses, taken directly from their IRS 990 filings.
additional active rescues below the IRS filing threshold, each estimated conservatively at just $25,000/year.
Georgia counties represented across the licensed organizations in our dataset.
Adding documented filings to those conservative estimates yields roughly $120 million in annual private rescue spending. We counted each organization only once, even when it holds multiple county licenses, so the total isn't inflated by double-counting.
Scope note: this dataset covers GDA-licensed shelters and rescues only. The many spay/neuter and TNVR organizations that help people fix pets but are not licensed shelters are not included — meaning the real private total is higher than what we show. Municipal (public) shelter spending is not yet included and will be added as that data is compiled.
Annual expenses from IRS 990 filings, via the GDA licensed-rescue list and ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer.
A handful of large organizations carry much of the documented total — but the hundreds of small rescues beneath them, doing the daily work with little or no budget, are exactly who a state program would help most.
Note: the Humane Society of Cobb County merged into Atlanta Humane Society in 2025 and now operates as Atlanta Humane Society – Marietta. The figures above reflect each organization's most recent separate IRS 990 filing, before the merger appeared on tax records.
A University of Florida study found targeted, high-volume community-cat sterilization cut animal-control intake about 70% and euthanasia about 95% in the target zone. Albuquerque, New Mexico cut shelter cat euthanasia 84% and intake 38% over three years.
A Minnesota legislative fiscal study found each dollar invested in spay/neuter returns about $20 in avoided shelter costs over ten years. Shelter intake runs $350–$500 per animal; one $70 surgery can prevent hundreds of future intakes.
In 2025 Texas appropriated $13M over two years (TxSNP), sending funds straight to surgery providers, and in 2023 made TNVR return-to-field a clear legal defense (HB 3660). New Mexico, California, Maryland, North Carolina, and New Hampshire all prioritize prevention.
Georgia ranks 5th worst in the nation for shelter euthanasia (Best Friends, 2023), and its sterilization program isn't a budget line — it relies on license-plate sales and voluntary tax check-offs. Southern shelter overpopulation has risen since national prevention funding was cut.
The 300:1 ratio is derived by our coalition from GDA license data, ProPublica IRS 990 filings, and DCSP disbursement records. We're glad to share our methodology with any lawmaker, journalist, or partner — email us.
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