Washington’s 2025 Animal Welfare Assessment: What It Means for Seattle

A Landmark Assessment

Beginning in October 2024, the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) convened veterinarians, animal welfare experts, and regulators to take stock of companion animal welfare across the state. The resulting 2025 Animal Welfare Assessment is over 143 pages long, but its core message is simple: Washington’s systems for protecting animals and supporting pet owners are fragmented, underfunded, and unevenly distributed.

As the report explains:

“The goal with this assessment is to better understand the current demographics of Washington state companion animals and ownership compared to the resources serving these groups by county, identify gaps based on this information, and propose solutions.”

It highlights gaps in veterinary access, oversight of breeders, tracking of imported animals, and equity of services across income groups — many of which are deeply relevant for Seattle.

Why Seattle Cannot Wait for the State

Although framed as a statewide look, the assessment makes clear that local governments bear much of the responsibility. Washington is a “home rule” state, meaning county and city agencies, not state agencies, must enforce key codes and regulations.

Imported Animals Through SeaTac

One major concern highlighted by the report is companion animal importation through SeaTac Airport. Over the last five years, there have been 25,653 Certificates of Veterinary Inspection (CVIs) documenting dogs and cats entering Washington. Importantly, one CVI does not equal one animal:

• 70% of CVIs cover an average of two animals traveling with their owners.
  

• 30% of CVIs are for larger shipments of 20+ unowned animals per certificate.

That means thousands of animals are entering the state each year through Seattle’s airport, placing additional strain on local rescues and opening up new risks for public health. The report underscores that Public Health–Seattle & King County must be prepared to coordinate with federal agencies to prevent the spread of zoonotic diseases.

Limited Animal Control Capacity

The assessment also highlights the limited number of animal control officers statewide: only 133 across all of Washington. Of these, 15 (11%) are field officers in Seattle — which we’ve already highlighted is a small workforce given the scale of the city’s companion animal population and the demands of parks enforcement, investigations, and community support.

Resources and Population: Seattle’s Uneven Picture

One of the clearest takeaways is that resources do not match population needs. The report notes that while King County ranks second in the state for available animal welfare resources, it also has by far the largest human and companion animal population.

For example, while the average community intakes in the state is 510 cats & dogs (317 cats & 193 dogs) annually, in 2023 Seattle Animal Shelter took in 2,362 cats & dogs (1,044 cats & 1,277 dogs).  This is 3.3x the state average in cat intakes and 6.6x the state average in dog intakes.

The report highlights that, “we expect to see greater resources in areas with higher human and companion animal populations.” In practice, this means King County is not actually doing as well as it should be — and Seattle residents feel that gap most acutely.

Because the state lacks a systematic way to track pet populations, SAW has been estimating with the best possible methodologies, filling an essential data gap. But without consistent reporting — including from smaller rescues and independent shelters — Seattle risks continuing to plan in the dark.

The ALICE Factor: A Hidden Barrier in Seattle

Another significant finding for Seattle is the role of the ALICE threshold (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed). Statewide, 38% of households fall below ALICE, meaning they cannot afford basic costs of living despite being employed. Of these households, 2 million animals live in ALICE-constrained homes. 

In Seattle, this translates to a major blind spot in assistance programs:

• Current low-income pet assistance is tied to poverty-level thresholds. In King County, 9% of households are below the poverty threshold.
  

• Families above poverty but below ALICE — 25% of households in King County — are excluded, even though they cannot reasonably afford vet care, spay/neuter, or emergency services.

As the report shows, even when services are subsidized, many pet owners cannot cover the remaining costs. In Seattle, addressing ALICE households will be essential for any real equity in animal welfare.

Echoes of SAW’s Findings

Seattle Animal Watch has long been asking similar questions through interviews and data collection. The overlaps are clear:

• Seattle Animal Shelter’s Role: As a government agency, SAS plays a critical role not just in sheltering but also in shaping policy. Its participation in the One Seattle Comprehensive Plan and other city planning processes is essential to ensuring companion animals are included in long-term city strategies.
  

• Data Sharing: A coalition could encourage rescues and shelters across the city to consistently report data to Shelter Animals Count, improving the accuracy of Seattle’s animal population data.
  

• Expanding Programs: Coalitions can also help scale successful local models, such as feral cat community programs, mobile clinics, wellness clinics, veterinary social work programs and food/supply distribution efforts. Expanding or replicating these programs in underserved areas could reduce strain on shelters and keep pets with their families.
  

• Mentorship & Outreach: Seattle programs could mentor smaller agencies elsewhere in the state, ensuring lessons learned here benefit other communities.

A Call for Local Leadership

The state report makes several recommendations that Seattle is well-positioned to lead:

• Create a shelter advisory committee. Convening cross-sector groups to advise on the Seattle Animal Shelter’s strategy, ensuring it fulfills the most pressing unmet needs, should be a Seattle priority.
  

• Make spay/neuter and pet wellness more accessible. Seattle Animal Shelter could expand pet wellness clinics, targeting neighborhoods with the greatest unmet need. Their spay/neuter clinic could be expanded to offer services to local rescue partners and all Seattle residents under the ALICE threshold.
  

• Strengthen regulatory oversight. Seattle can go further in licensing and inspecting breeders, rescues, and pet businesses.
  

• Invest in ALICE households. By expanding assistance programs to cover families caught in the “in-between,” Seattle could lead in equity.