The Argument
Why 10%? Why now?
The case for redirecting a meaningful share of companion animal philanthropy towards the one breakthrough that could change everything.
Companion animal philanthropy in the United States is a serious, well-intentioned enterprise. Billions of dollars flow annually towards shelters, rescue operations, spay/neuter programs, and advocacy. The people behind this work are committed. The outcomes, within their scope, are real.
The problem is the scope. The tools philanthropy has funded to date — however well-deployed — are structurally incapable of addressing the actual scale of companion animal suffering, both nationally and worldwide. Not because the people are wrong, but because the math doesn't work.
There is only one path that could change the math. It has been underexplored, underfunded, and too often dismissed on the basis of myths that don't hold up to scrutiny. This is the case for taking it seriously.
Context
What serious R&D actually costs
The typical timeline to bring a human vaccine to market ranges from 5 to 10 years, at a cost of hundreds of millions to over a billion dollars. For companion animals, the numbers are significantly lower, but still require a level of sustained and patient capital that companion animal philanthropy has never come close to committing.
Based on published veterinary drug-development research and industry benchmarks, we estimate that advancing a promising nonsurgical sterilization technology through clinical validation, regulatory approval, manufacturing scale-up, and commercial launch could require anywhere from $30 million to $100 million. This represents a significant but achievable investment—well within the reach of coordinated philanthropy, particularly when philanthropic capital could be used to strategically attract additional funding.
Identifying and developing potential blended finance pathways is an example of Breakthrough10's broader role: addressing the financial, structural, and strategic barriers to commercialization that extend beyond the science itself.
Proof of Concept
It has already worked. Just not for cats and dogs.
Immunocontraception — just one pathway, but useful as a case study — is not a theoretical concept. It has been successfully deployed in wild horse populations in the American West, in white-tailed deer populations across the eastern United States, and in other wildlife management contexts where surgical intervention is impractical at scale.
The GonaCon and PZP vaccines, developed with support from the USDA and other agencies, have demonstrated that fertility control through immunological means is biologically achievable in mammals. The challenge for companion animals is not whether it can work — it is whether the resources exist to develop, test, and bring to market a product optimized for cats and dogs at the scale required.
The science is not starting from zero. It is starting from a foundation of demonstrated proof of concept, with a clear development pathway and a known destination. What it lacks is the funding to get there.
The Metric Problem
Why Shelter Live Release Rate isn't enough
Shelter Live Release Rate (LRR)—the percentage of animals entering a shelter that leave alive—has become a defining measure of success in companion animal welfare and a key benchmark for philanthropic impact. A 90%+ LRR is widely celebrated as a milestone. And within its limits, rightly so.
The problem is what LRR doesn't measure. It tells us little about the quality of life of animals enduring prolonged confinement, overcrowding, or the behavioral deterioration associated with both. Nor does it account for the estimated one billion animals worldwide that never enter a shelter at all.
In Los Angeles — a city whose leadership regularly cites its 90% LRR as evidence of great progress — recent LA Comptroller audits point to a much darker reality when it comes to inhumane conditions. Furthermore, LA Animal Services has stated that “shelter overcrowding leads to bite incidents, aggression, and altercations between co-housed animals.” A high LRR and a deteriorating welfare reality too often coexist.
Philanthropy deserves a better metric. One that asks not just how many animals left a shelter alive, but how many animals are living well — and what it would take to change that number at population scale.
The 10% Ask
A 10% shift. A different future.
We are not calling for a wholesale shift in companion animal philanthropy. Shelters, rescues, and traditional spay/neuter programs save lives every day, and that work must continue.
We are calling for a 10% investment in the future. A meaningful but measured commitment to breakthrough technologies that commercial markets are unlikely to fund on their own, particularly for the world's most vulnerable animals.
Breakthroughs are not only plausible. They are historically proven possible. The question is whether companion animal philanthropy is willing to aim at the actual size of the problem.
Ready to go deeper?
Explore the science behind nonsurgical sterilization, or connect with us to discuss what a coordinated funding commitment could look like.