A lucrative underground trade risks undermining research, creating new pandemics and pushing a recently abundant species to the brinkIn 2019, Jonah Sacha, a researcher at Oregon Health and Science University, received a delivery of 20 monkeys from Mauritius. As part of his research into stem-cell transplants as an HIV treatment, he performs tests on long-tailed macaques.
Comedian Ricky Gervais has donated £1.9 million to animal charities across the globe.
The stand-up and creator of television shows such as After Life and The Office, has donated a substantial sum raised from ticket sales from his latest Armageddon world tour.
The money will be split equally between 11 worldwide animal charitiesthat have been chosen by Gervais.
These include All Dogs Matter, Animal SOS Sri Lanka, Catastrophes Cat Rescue, Chaldon Animal Sanctuary, Dogs On The Streets, Helping Rhinos, Millions of Friends, Mira Dogs, Paws2Rescue, PDSA and Wild Futures.
About the move, BAFTA, Emmy and Golden-Globe winning comicGervais, 62, said: “I hope the dogs, cats, rhinos and monkeys invest this money wisely, because when my career goes tits up I’ll need it back.”
In an effort to take action against ticket touts, Platinum Tickets for the Armageddon tour went on sale to guarantee premium seats at market rates, with the extra profits from these ticket sales going to Gervais’s animal charities.
Gervais, a vegan, is a long-standing supporter of animal rights and has put his name to various initiatives in the past.
Earlier this year, he supported a campaign to end bear bile farming in Vietnam, where bears, trapped in small cages, are subjected to a painful method of extracting bile for use in traditional medicine.
We try to avoid using the word “miracle” in our newsletter and social media posts, even though there are plenty of times when we’re tempted to use it–when we thought a cut was too deep, the cancer too advanced, the damage from maggots too pervasive for the animal to heal. But we usually choose not to say “her healing was a miracle” because we feel it discounts all the effort and hundreds of combined hours of human help that make the healing possible. But yet, there is something more than the sum of its parts, taking place in the relationships that make everyone coming together to help animals a family, a team, a group of friends, whose affection is sealed by our shared love of animals.
And now we want to use that very word: the miracle of friendship. There is an unspoken understanding between all who care for animals, many who have sometimes been deeply misunderstood. Your love, our love of animals, is not casual. It hovers within us at all times. An animal’s smile turns our hearts to mush; the abuse of an animal astonishes and ignites us. These are what forge this miracle of friendship we experience together.
May all the blessings of peace rain down upon us all as we continue rescuing these vulnerable animals from injuries, illnesses, and abuse, and may our hearts, too, find deep happiness in their recoveries. Thank you for your gifts of help, and for your gifts of friendship to Animal Aid and to the thousands of others weaving this beautiful blanket of compassion.
A mere rubber band almost ended Chicky’s life.
We were stunned to see that a rubber band could so horribly injure this puppy’s neck. The rubber band penetrated deep into the tissue and caused a horribly painful and deep wound.
As soon as we had Chicky on the treatment table of course we cut the rubber band off, and although the removal stung a bit, we suspect that relief was almost immediate. We then treated the wound like any other serious laceration, and supported her with antibiotics, a hydration drip, food and–yup, cuddles! It took her a couple of weeks to no longer need the bandage, but we were thrilled at how quickly her little body healed.
Turned out, to no one’s surprise, that Chicky is a huge love bug, eager to forget her weeks of pain, ready to leap into a long happy life ahead.
Help us say “We can fix this!” – make a donation today for street animal rescue.
Pihu’s sparkling eyes say “I survived cancer!”
If you’d just looked at Pihu’s eyes, you wouldn’t know she was dying. But the advanced cancerous tumor on her backside was slowly taking this beautiful street dog’s life. The cancer type is called a Transmissible Venereal Tumor, (TVT) and it usually affects the reproductive areas.
A several months’ course of weekly chemotherapy was necessary to shrink the tumor. But such therapy is not always successful, and the more advanced the tumor is, the more difficult the recovery. If a dog’s overall condition has been greatly weakened by the cancer, he or she cannot always be saved. But Pihu is as strong as she is sweet, and she inspires love to last a lifetime–and hers, we hope, will be a long one.
For the ones who need so much more than just medicine to recover – Make a donation today.
Haldi’s tail thumped in hope, just when her life was in gravest danger…
Beyond Haldi’s huge neck wound, her tail wagged, as if pleading for help. When our rescue team arrived, we found her unbelievably gentle despite her terrible pain. She would need surgery as soon as possible, so once back in our hospital we cleaned and put on a temporary bandage at the site of the worst of her wounds (she also had a less serious wound on her hind leg).
Once the operation was complete, Haldi’s rapid healing simply galloped along. And Haldi made her wound dressings a breeze, she was just so full of trust and love. All healed, meet the strong, radiant Haldi now!
When surgery is their only hope, let’s be there. Please donate.
…These are a few of your fav-o-rite things….
Your purchase is a gift to your friends, yourself, and best of all, to animals.
100% of the proceeds go to our street animal rescues.
It was difficult, with many threats from the Serbian government. But, if you believe you are right then you stick with. What we do in life, echoes in eternity.
As a result of continuous “questioning” on the issue; they are now threatening to close the shelter “Alex” as some kind of revenge..
This is not going to stop us – we eagerly await a response from the EU which should definitely give us confirmation that export consignments took place.
The Kingdom Of Bhutan Becomes The First Country In The World To Achieve 100% Dog Sterilization & Vaccination
The Kingdom of Bhutan has become the first country in the world to declare that its entire street dog population is fully sterilized and vaccinated following years of investment in a humane dog management program with global animal charity Humane Society International (HSI).
At the formal closing ceremony of the National Dog Population Management and Rabies Control Project in the capital Thimphu, presided over by Bhutan’s Prime Minister, Dr. Lotay Tshering, the Royal Government of Bhutan announced this historic achievement for animal welfare and human health.
At the ceremony, Prime Minister Tshering presented HSI with a plaque in recognition of what he called HSI’s ‘consistent and unwavering support’ towards Bhutan’s street dog welfare success from the beginning in 2009 until its closure – thereby honoring a decade and a half of intensive, targeted spay/neuter work and community engagement initiatives carried out by Bhutan in partnership with HSI.
Since its inception, the project has successfully sterilized and vaccinated more than 150,000 street dogs and micro-chipped 32,000 pet dogs.
Back in 2005 I worked with Slavica (Serbian) to set up ‘Serbian Animals Voice’ in order to be a voice, and campaign for much better treatment of stray dogs and cats in Serbia. From the start it was difficult as we were up against a government which viewed endless killing as the only way to ‘control’ stray numbers.
This is an utterly wrong way to view stray animal management and instead we fought to have the government / regional authority ‘killing money’ redirected into covering costs for stray sterilisations, vaccinations and genera health check ups. Anyone with anything between their ears will agree that sterilised animals cannot produce more young; and that was the basis on which we fought. Their ‘final solution’ of just continually killing and doing nothing else does not reduce numbers as new animal young are being born on the streets all the time. A catch, neuter and re release scheme after vaccinations and a good health check is the only way forward to reduce stray numbers.
Sadly the Serbian government just ignored our proposals and continued with their policy of simply killing anything on the streets that they could. Killing simply creates a void in different areas into which strays will wander; looking for food and probably more dogs to reproduce with. If they are sick and have illness or disease, then they always have the chance by moving to a new area of taking ‘that’ illness into an area in which stray dogs may not have suffered from before.
Health checks, sterilisations and vaccinations against disease is the all round solution to stray dog / cat management. Killing is simply a short term ‘fix’ which may show a reduction in numbers for a few weeks; but with un-sterilised strays reproducing all the time we soon see a situation where ‘local mass killing’ returns stray numbers to what they were before, or even higher.
Serbia needs to learn stray dog management from Bhutan.
Thus to see this superb news from Bhutan is amazing – mega big well done to them for seeking and taking the right advice and way forward with stray animal management.
You can see all of our Serbian work by visiting the old site at
serbiananimalsvoice.com
Well done Bhutan; Serbia dragging years behind as always.
This is fantastic news for the welfare movement; and we send them our very best for what has been a massive campaign over so many years – they have had the tenacity to fight on regardless of some promises by politicians in the near past.
A 3 year phase out sounds long and is long; but with those in the business knowing their days are very limited; we may e a dramatic reduction in farming in say, the first year. Once there is proper legislation in the form of a (legal) Bill; then this can be used for prosecutions etc. The dog farmers will know it and the sooner we see them walk the better it will be for all.
We have attempted to give action and news support on this issue singe our foundation – you can see our past posts here :
Congratulations again dear campaigner friends – in the end, good always wins over evil.
Regards Mark
Photos by HSI Korea
A historic announcement as the South Korean government has stated that before the end of 2023, it will introduce a bill to ban the dog meat industry, which farms and kills up to 1 million dogs per year for human consumption.
At a meeting in Seoul today, between the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs,representatives of the ruling Peoples Power Party and Korean animal groups, including Humane Society International/Korea,a government bill was confirmed with a three-year phase out period once legislation is passed, meaning the ban would come into effect in 2027.
Compensation will be offered to help legally registered dog meat farmers, traders, slaughter houses, and restaurant owners transition or close their businesses, similar to the Models for Changeprogram run by HSI/Korea, which has worked with 18 dog meat farmers across the country since 2015 to switch to growing chili plants or parsley.
This news follows considerable public and political momentum for a dog meat ban, including the introduction of five legislative bills by National Assembly Members. The news is welcomed by HSI/Korea,one of the leading animal groups campaigning for an end to dog meat nationwide.
“News that the South Korean government is at last poised to ban the dog meat industry is like a dream come true for all of us who have campaigned so hard to end this cruelty,” said JungAh Chae, executive director of HSI/Korea, who attended the meeting with MAFRA. “Korean society has reached a tipping point where most people now reject eating dogs and want to see this suffering consigned to the history books.”
“With so many dogs needlessly suffering for a meat that hardly anyone eats, the government’s bill delivers a bold plan that must now urgently be passed by the Assembly, so that a legislative ban can be agreed upon as soon as possible to help South Korea close this miserable chapter in our history and embrace a dog friendly future,” said Chae.
With growing concern for animal welfare and over 6 million pet dogs now living in Korean homes, demand for dog meat has dwindled. Latest opinion polls by Nielsen Korea, commissioned by HSI/Korea, show that 86% of South Koreans won’t eat dog meat in the future and 57% support a ban.
HSI recognizes that a short phase out period is an inevitable consequence of dismantling the trade and helping farmers and traders transition to other livelihoods. However, HSI urges the government to use the phase out period to work with animal welfare groups like HSI/Korea to rescue as many dogs as possible in a state-sponsored, coordinated effort.
HSI/Korea’s Models for Change program has rescued more than 2,700 dogsfrom dog meat farms across South Korea. The program has found adoptive homes for the rescued dogs in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands, with a small number rehomed in South Korea. Most of the farmers with whom HSI/Korea has worked experience mounting societal, family, and financial pressure to get out of farming dogs for their meat.
“This is a momentous day for HSI’s campaign to end the horrors of the dog meat industry in South Korea, and one we have been hoping to see for a very long time,” said Kitty Block and Jeff Flocken, CEO and President of HSI globally, in a joint statement.
”Having been to dog meat farms and seen HSI/Korea’s Models for Change program in action, we know only too well the suffering and deprivation these desperate animals endure in the name of an industry for whom history has now thankfully called time,” continued Block. “This is the beginning of the end of dog meat farming in South Korea, and HSI stands ready to contribute our expertise until every cage is empty.”
In the early days of the war in 2022, Eurogroup for Animals and its members reached out to other organisations working in Ukraine to set up a Task Force for companion animals in this country.
The initial objective of the Task Force was to identify what was needed in order to ensure welfare of companion animals overthere, and to increase information sharing between the international NGOs working in Ukraine.
We strive for systemic changes for animals in Ukraine and we are here to help in the long run. That also holds true during the war and the difficulties, which come with it”
Luca Secker, Scientific Officer for Companion Animals, Deutscher Tierschutzbund
The Task Force members have put in place many programmes to help alleviate the suffering of cats and dogs as a result of prolonged warfare. However, they agree that some of the solutions should focus on systemic change in Ukraine, rather than ad hoc responses to current problems. Cat and dog humane population management is one of the major tasks requiring systemic change because “as long as people own dogs and cats, there will always be a need to manage their populations”.
The members identified three areas, on which population management in Ukraine should focus:
Supporting the identification and registration of cats and dogs in Ukraine.
Supporting evidence-based cat and dog sterilisation programmes for owned and unowned animals.
Advising on minimum standards for shelters.
To find out more about our vision, read our opinion on cat and dog population management in Ukraine (also available in Ukrainian). The Task Force details in this document what could be done now by all the stakeholders to achieve better welfare for cats and dogs in Ukraine.
The approach requires the close involvement of the competent authorities, veterinary professionals and paraprofessionals to ensure the highest level of animal health, and welfare and to minimise risks to public health.
ABOUT COLDPLAY Since forming at university in London, Coldplay have gone on to become one of the planet’s most popular acts, selling more than 100 million copies of their nine Number One albums, which have spawned a string of hits including Yellow, Clocks, Fix You, Paradise, Viva La Vida, A Sky Full Of Stars, Hymn For The Weekend, Adventure Of A Lifetime, Orphans and, most recently, Higher Power and My Univers
Luna, featured in this video, was born with a condition called cerebullar hypolasia, caused by problems in the part of the brain that control motor function.
Other cases of incoordination are caused by the Canine Distemper Virus, and some are from accidents that involved head trauma.
These survivors need extra help with eating, staying clean, and living in a protected area where they won’t get hurt if they suddenly fall down.
These movers and shakers have an abundance of love to give and are feisty to boot, overcoming all obstacles to get the cuddles they want or their favourite spot on their doggie bed.
Thank you for giving us the means to give permanent homes to these bright sparkling dogs who have flopped and bobbed their ways into many hearts here–and we hope yours will be among them soon. Plan your visit to meet Luna and the other sweethearts!
Gentle Floppy, saved from a horrible wound made worse by thousands of flies.
An inner ear infection had drawn thousands of flies. Seeing him on the side of the road, shaking his head in so much agitation, was heart-breaking. Blood soaked his jaw and upper shoulder and the flies seemed to worsen his trauma. We hurried him to our hospital and began his treatment.
Floppy has been an amazing patient, quietly bearing the treatments which must have both hurt and frightened him. But he held completely still and made dressing his wound as easy for his care-givers as he possibly could. The wound took two months of daily dressings to heal, but Floppy felt much better almost immediately. Watch til the end, because now, Floppy sometimes seems to smile.
Burned boy, Shiva, has his own temple! (Well, he thinks so!)
We don’t know how this young street dog, Shiva, became burned–possibly someone accidentally spilled hot water. He seems too accustomed to being loved to have been a victim of a deliberate cruelty. He has a special friend in his neighborhood who insisted on carrying him to the ambulance. Without intensive treatment, this large burned area could have easily become infected and taken his life. He needed daily wound cleanings, dressings, antibiotics and careful monitoring to ensure his rapid healing, so being hospitalized was essential.
Each day he became more and more adored by our staff and volunteers. His healing was beautiful, we neutered him, and because he’s such a popular guy at the temple area where he lives, we knew that Shiva would be in good hands there. When we released him, Shiva expressed a tremendous tail-wagging joy to be home. He still needed twice daily application of fly repellent cream which his caring friend faithfully applied, and our Street Treatment Team made regular visits to ensure the wound closed completely. This is what a great partnership for street animals can look like: community carer takers, a hospital for when they need more, and loving support from donors.
Lovely Susie felt so much relief as soon as her eye surgery was complete!
Golden beauty Susie was spotted by a passer-by with her eye protruding from its socket and her horn broken off. At first we suspected she had suffered a blow to the head by a passing vehicle, but once we examined her, we discovered that she actually had a tumor growing behind her eye. We waited a few days to stabilize her, treat her horn wounds (both horns were affected by the tumor) and get ready her for eye removal surgery.
When her surgery was complete, we couldn’t believe how rapidly she stood and walked. Relief may have been almost instantaneous. She started eating again as soon as the anesthesia wore off, and her road to complete recovery was straight ahead. Like you, we find it unfathomable that her owner simply abandoned her in such dire condition. When this girl desperately needed help, it was provided by strangers. Thank you for being among the kind strangers who saved Susie’s life.
We typically have a majority of women volunteers, but it hasn’t been true for us during the past month, and we’re so delighted by this infusion of the gentlest of gentlemen.
Wouter, (Netherlands) has joined us for more than a month of loving care to the animals–and this is his third time here! He’s vivacious, hard-working, wonderful with the animals and has a great sense of humour to match it all.
Dan (USA) hadn’t taken a vacation from his screen printing company in years. But when he got his chance for a prolonged break, he headed straight to Animal Aid where he lavished love on hundreds of grateful new friends.
Alex (Australia) is a multi-lingual history and world politics teacher who is accustomed to helping kids, immigrants, and marginalized communities. This year he took a sabbatical and decided to share his kindness even further, by sharing his love with animals. And he’s made some new human friends while he’s at it!
Help an animal glow like you!
100% of the proceeds go to our street animal rescues.
Rescue the abandoned dog with duct tape around its mouth wandering around and unable to eat or drink
You can see just by the amount it drinks that it must have been suffering terribly – Mark
Hello all of you! In Vietnam, many people eat dog meat. People keep dogs to protect their homes and eat them Many people raise them and sell them to the slaughterhouse for money. On our way to the patrol residential area, we discovered and rescued them from being sold into the slaughterhouse. But those are the few that have been rescued, what about those who can’t be found? May everyone join hands to protect these pitiful and loyal animals. Spread the message “Don’t sell dogs! Dogs are friend !. They aren’t food!” to everyone! For every views, share, comments and subscribe from you was as a supporters are the most biggest motivation for us to continue this path as helping to save animal lives in this world. From the bottom of our heart, thank you! Warning: Each movie what you are watching will help a lot of poor homeless dogs and cats in Vietnam as well as another Asian countries. These scenes combine real rescue and edited real-life stories. Lack of constructive feedback will destroy human’s love for animals. If these images made you to be unhappy, so sorry. Thank you for supporting us, thanks so much. … Contact mail: Asian Pet Rescue Center ( asianpetrescuecenter@gmail.com ). –
In the bustling city of Zhangjiagang, eastern China, a grim discovery was made. Police rescued around 1,000 cats from a truck, believed to be transporting them to a slaughterhouse. Local animal rights activists alerted the authorities to this horrifying practice, leading to the rescue of these innocent creatures. The rescued cats were transported to a nearby animal shelter, offering them a temporary safe haven. But the question remained: how could this happen?
World Animals Voice 
