Recent strains on pet shelters across the Hawaiian Islands are being alleviated by a joint effort between Greater Good Charities, Wings of Rescue and many other volunteers and charitable organizations to create the largest pet rescue flight in history.

In “Paws Across the Pacific,” over 600 shelter pets were transported from Kauai, Oahu, Maui and Hawaii island to mainland shelter partners in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana where they’ll be adopted into new homes.

“Pet shelters in Hawaii are in a COVID-19 crisis. Normal operations have been affected by months of shut down, economic downturn, limited hours, and routine flights to the mainland halted,” said Liz Baker, CEO of Greater Good Charities, in a news release. “The Paws Across the Pacific flight is urgently needed to make space in Hawaii’s shelters for at-risk pets who otherwise wouldn’t be able to receive necessary care to survive.”