IFAW - the International Fund for Animal Welfare

The World Society for the Protection of Animals is the largest global alliance of animal welfare organisations with over 770 members in 147 countries. WSPA has 13 offices and thousands of supporters worldwide. With consultative status with the United Nations and Council of Europe, WSPA is building a united global animal welfare movement to further our vision of a world where animal protection matters, and animal cruelty ends.

WSPA’s animal welfare programmes include a mix of direct fieldwork, campaigning, education, training and member society development. These Programmes are:

Companion Animals

WSPA’s work in this area is primarily concerned with three groups of animals:

• Stray animals who endure persecution, disease and starvation across the globe. Globally there are some 600 million dogs, and a similar number of cats, of which an estimated 80% are stray or unwanted. WSPA aims to reduce the number of stray animals and combat inhumane treatment through its stray control projects.
• Working equines that are forced to work despite malnutrition, injury and little or no veterinary care. Horses and donkeys are a vital form of transport for millions of people and their goods. WSPA aims to show that taking proper care of working animals is in the best interests of both animals and their owners.
• Pet animals who lack the basic requirements for a comfortable life.
  

Wildlife

WSPA’s Wildlife Programme targets three major areas of need:

• The inhumane killing of animals for meat or products.
• The suffering of animals captured for live trade during capture, transit and sale.

The welfare of animals kept in captivity; many are kept today in facilities that ignore their physical, behavioural and psychological needs.
Areas of work include the end of bear farming, the eradication of the use of bears in ‘entertainment’ such as bear dancing and bear baiting; the closure of Japan’s bear parks; the end of commercial whaling; a ban on bullfighting in Catalonia; and supporting the funding, construction and set-up of sanctuaries for rescued bears. Ten bear sanctuaries have been helped by WSPA in countries including Laos, Hungary and Pakistan.

Farm Animal Welfare

Each year 61 billion farm animals are reared for meat, milk or eggs worldwide. The majority are farmed intensively in systems where they are caged or confined, overcrowded, mutilated, and unable to express their natural behaviours. WSPA is helping to raise awareness and introduce legislation that will protect farm animals and provide improvements in welfare standards.

Achievements so far include:

• The launch of the Model Farm Project, a partnership between the WSPA and the Food Animal Initiative (FAI) which aims to establish an international network of development and demonstration farms, and to show that humane and sustainable farming is a practical and viable reality.
• A Memorandum of Understanding on humane slaughter programmes signed in China.
• The formation of the first and only Asian Coalition for Farm Animals (ACFA).

Disaster Relief

Throughout its history, WSPA has stepped in to help communities and animals after earthquakes, floods and other man-made emergencies. WSPA’s approach to handling the aftermath of disasters enables communities to equip themselves in advance to save their animals and ensures more effective relief work and more sustainable recovery for communities, after the incident. The extensive knowledge, expertise and reach of WSPA, enables us to react immediately to these unpredictable events.

Responses include:

• Urgent veterinary treatment
• Disease containment
• Mobile clinic dispatch
• Rebuilding destroyed infrastructure

WSPA has provided help to disaster victims worldwide, including those affected by the 2004 Asian Tsunami, and earthquakes that hit Pakistan and Java in 2006.

Education

Educating people about animal welfare is crucial to animals, people and the environment. WSPA’s aim is to develop compassion, a sense of justice and to teach others to respect animals.

Through humane education, it is recognised that childrens’ attitudes towards animals can be developed, and they can become more compassionate and respectful individuals. WSPA’s animal welfare education programme in primary schools has been endorsed by UNESCO in the Latin American region.

Global animal welfare initiatives

The initiative to achieve a Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare (UDAW) aims to achieve global consideration of the welfare of sentient animals and recognition of animal welfare as an issue of importance as part of the social development of nations worldwide.

The UDAW promotes the intrinsic value of animals but also recognises the importance of animal welfare as a tool to improve human health, encourage environmental sustainability and contribute towards sustainable development in line with the Millennium Development goals of the United Nations.

WSPA currently acts as Secretariat to the inter-governmental steering committee for the UDAW, comprised of representatives from Kenya, India, Costa Rica, the Czech Republic and the Republic of the Philippines.

Member Societies

In all aspects of its work, WSPA aims to collaborate with and support animal welfare groups through the WSPA Member Society Network - the largest international alliance of animal welfare organisations in the world. Member Societies range from large national organisations, covering a range of welfare issues, to small specialist groups, working on specific problems. Membership at WSPA gives organisations a range of benefits including partnership, advice, information, training and funding.