World Animal Protection, formerly The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA), is an international

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

animal welfare organization that has been in operation since 1981. The charity's mission is to create a better world for animals by protecting them. The charity has regional hubs in:

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

and

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, and offices in 14 countries. Its headquarters is in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

History

The organization was known previously as the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA). This resulted from the merger of two animal welfare organizations in 1981, the World Federation for the Protection of Animals (WFPA) founded in 1950 and the International Society for the Protection of Animals (ISPA) founded in 1959. In June 2014, the charity became World Animal Protection.

Campaigns

Animals in the wild

In 1985 WSPA launched a campaign to outlaw bullfighting in cities in France and Spain. In the 1990s, the charity contributed to the prohibition of bear dancing in Greece, Turkey, and India. In India, the charity funded a sanctuary for bears previously used in the trade. After a

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

investigation in September 2013, the charity launched a campaign against the caged civet coffee trade. Several retailers have since stopped selling coffee produced by caged civets. The charity campaigns in

for an end to the bear bile industry. In Pakistan they work to end bear baiting by campaigning for a change in law, offering alternative livelihoods to bear owners and housing bears rescued from bear baiting in a purpose built

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This seconda ...

Animals in communities

The organization is working to end the inhumane culling of stray dogs, which many countries do in an effort to eliminate rabies. The organization believes that vaccination programs are the only effective way to eliminate rabies, and work with governments on vaccination programs. In 2012, a mass vaccination program was started in the Shaanxi, Guizhou and Anhui Provinces of China, working with the Chinese Animal Disease Control Centre; as of June 2014, 750 veterinarians have been trained and over 90,000 dogs have been vaccinated. Mass vaccination programs have also been delivered in

Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

Zanzibar Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa. It is located in the Indian Ocean, and consists of many small Island, islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba Island. ...

,"Mass dog vaccination program to combat rabies"
, ''China'', 18 June 2014. and

Kathmandu Kathmandu () is the capital and largest city of Nepal, situated in the central part of the country within the Kathmandu Valley. As per the 2021 Nepal census, it has a population of 845,767 residing in 105,649 households, with approximately 4 mi ...

, Nepal. A second focus is on stray dog population management itself, through proven humane methods such as education, improved legislation, registration and identification of dogs, sterilisation and contraception, holding facilities and rehoming centres. They help governments design a program, and monitor and evaluate progress, using the model provided in the document "Humane Dog Population Management Guidance", developed in November 2007 by The International Companion Animal Management Coalition (ICAM Coalition), of which the organization is a member. Programs often include veterinary services such as mobile clinics for stray cats and dogs or those belonging to people who cannot afford veterinary care. The animals are sterilized, vaccinated, and provided other needed veterinary care. Such programs are provided in Sri Lanka, Zanzibar, Colombia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Sierra Leone, and Bali. A further focus is on helping working animals (horses, donkeys, and mules) in the West Bank, working with a partner organization, the Palestine Wildlife Society.""Protecting working animals in the West Bank"
, World Animal Protection, accessed 19 July 2014.

Animals in disasters

The charity has disaster operations teams in

and

. In the aftermath of disasters they travel to worst affected areas to administer emergency veterinary care, distribute food and reunite animals with their owners where possible. The work is of particular benefit in

developing world A developing country is a sovereign state with a less-developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to developed countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreeme ...

countries, where communities rely on animals for food, transport and income. The charity also works with governments and local animal welfare groups in disaster-prone areas to set up national warning systems and teach communities how to protect their animals in the event of a disaster. In November 2013 the charity were filmed for a BBC documentary called ''Vets in the Disaster Zone'', during disaster response work in the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan. The programme aired on ''BBC Two'' on 28 April 2014.

Animals in farming

World Animal Protection works with governments, food businesses and farmers to improve the welfare of farmed animals. They encourage the general public to buy food produced in line with high welfare standards. In 2013 the charity joined with Compassion in World Farming to create a business benchmark on farm animal welfare (BBFAW). According to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', there has been a 10 per cent rise in companies publishing farm animal welfare policies since the benchmark launched. In 2024, World Animal Protection published a report "Your Taxes, Their Farms: Funding Factory Farming Abroad". It found that more than £116 million of UK's Taxpayer money has been used to fund "cruel and damaging" factory farms abroad in the past five years.

Global animal welfare

The charity is campaigning for a universal declaration on animal welfare. In 2013 they successfully lobbied the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

to include language on

animal welfare Animal welfare is the quality of life and overall well-being of animals. Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures ...

in two General Assembly Resolutions on agriculture and disaster risk reduction. In 2017, a World Animal Protection investigation uncovered a massive increase in harmful wildlife selfies on social media sites. Instagram vowed to take action, following an investigation by international NGO, World Animal Protection. In 2017, two Instagram personalities, Sal Lavallo and Jessica Nabongo streamed a live video of an endangered species, a pangolin being eaten in Gabon. As of 2020, videos and accounts showing cruelty to animals and abuses of endangered species are not banned.

Jeannette McDermott Award

In 2015 World Animal Protection awarded Marcelle Meredith, Executive Director of the National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals - South Africa ( NSPCA), and former Board member of the World Animal Protection, with the Jeannette McDermott award for animal welfare. The award was created in Canada by World Animal Protection in 1996 "in recognition of someone’s life devoted to animal welfare." Dominique Bellemare, Chairman of WAP Canada stated: "Marcelle has done amazing work for the past decade and for the cause of animal welfare. She has used her years on the international platform to advance the cause of animal welfare in Africa. I thank her profusely for all her work and dedication."

References

External links

Animals in disasters blog

World Animal Protection, YouTube channel

Animales SOS Bolivia Organization

Senda Verde Bolivia Organization
{{Authority control Animal charities based in the United Kingdom Animal welfare organisations based in London International organisations based in London Organisations based in the London Borough of Camden Organizations established in 1981