About 7000 fewer dogs and cats have been euthanised at RSPCA shelters across Australia in the past year, due to more animals being rehomed across the ACT and NSW.
According to RSPCA Australia National Statistics report, there were 22,804 dogs and cats put to sleep at shelters across Australia in the 2013-14 financial year, down from just below 30,000 in the previous year.
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More than 50 per cent of dogs had to be euthanised due to behavioural problems, while the majority of cats were put down for "other" reasons.
In the ACT, there were 104 dogs put down in the past year and 640 cats, both significantly down on the previous year.
RSPCA ACT director of Animal Welfare Jane Gregor said a large part of the drop in animals being put down had been due to better control of infectious diseases.
"Usually if we have kittens in here we try and get them out to foster carers where they can't infect other animals," she said. "It's trying to stop incidents of disease – vaccinating them on site, having vets on site."
RSPCA NSW Animal Care Services executive manager Brendon Neilly said an increased focus on finding homes for animals had resulted in about 3000 less cats and dogs being euthanised in the past year in the state.
"I can't understate how wonderful the relationship is with PetBarn as well," he said. "That has basically given us another 26 stores finding homes for animals, which is a remarkable partnership and I guess, at the very core, it's saving lives so that's fantastic."
Mr Neilly said through innovative programs and partnerships they had brought adoption rates up and he hoped to see that continue. "I like the angle of the graph at the moment, it's pretty exciting and we're getting bolder in what we do as well," he said.
But Ms Gregor said euthanasia statistics may increase again this year in Canberra as the number of kittens coming through their doors had increased by about 20 per cent.
"That's a real concern because they were dropping for quite a few years but suddenly they've really jumped again," she said.
"Obviously the message isn't getting out there well enough."
Ms Gregor said the RSPCA ACT didn't euthanise for space and the majority of the "other" deaths were due to cats which had gone feral.
