ABOUT US

The Virginia Federation of Humane Societies (VFHS) is a membership organization founded in 1959. Our membership includes public and private animal shelters, humane societies, rescue groups, sanctuaries, and animal control agencies, as well as animal caregivers and individual supporters across Virginia. 

VFHS is committed to ending the killing of healthy and treatable animals in Virginia’s sheltering system.  In 2017, VFHS launched “SaveVA Pets – Crossing the No Kill Finish Line” and declared the goal that the save rate for sheltered dogs and cats in Virginia will be at least 90% by 2020.

VFHS provides support to all shelters and animal welfare organizations in Virginia through grant funds for spay/neuter programs, funding for transfer/transport of animals from under-resourced areas of the state to regions where adoption outcomes are higher, sheltering outreach, and mentoring and educational programs. VFHS is a leader in advocating for policies at the state and local level that support lifesaving of sheltered animals and increased protections for owned pets.  We endorse TNR as the best practice for managing community cats, we are committed to ending tethering of companion animals as the primary means of confinement, we favor breed neutrality and oppose breed specific policies.

Each year, VFHS presents a multi-day conference featuring renowned speakers who offer training on latest progressive practices in animal welfare, professional and organizational development, fundraising, spay/neuter programming and increasing lifesaving for sheltered animals.