ANIMALS 101 – HOW YOU CAN HELP ANIMAL WELFARE.

ANIMALS 101 – THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO HELP ANIMAL WELFARE WITHOUT HAVING TO DONATE.

Animal welfare always needs your help for those without a voice! Your help does not have to be financial. There are ways to prevent animal welfare organisations from being overwhelmed or to stop animal cruelty by not taking part in cruel practices (even unknowingly). There are also red flag organisations to watch out for!

Before I share how you can help, I want to mention 2 important aspects to always keep in mind when you decide which organisation to support. They have to be RESPONSIBLE and FINANCIALLY TRANSPARENT.

Also read: ANIMALS 101 – HAVING AN EMERGENCY PLAN FOR YOUR PETS

1. The fraud and mismanagement in animal welfare is shocking and happens under the public’s nose. Although many groups want to help, for us it is important that they are a registered NPO/NPC. Registering however is super easy and anyone can do it, therefore this is not an indication that the organisation is reputable.  We know of organisation that are fronts for breeders and pet shops or who breeds themselves.  This is counterproductive to the goals of animal welfare as we need to stop the massive overpopulation crisis through sterilisation, education and by restricting animal trading. The way organisations handle adoptions is also a good indicator of how responsible they are.  They should never allow someone to adopt for someone else and if they do not have proper paperwork in place nor include sterilisation and a home checks, then they are not a responsible organisations!
2. Obviously, donations are always welcome, but if you do this, we want to encourage you to only donate to organisations who are financially transparent!  What do we mean?  Any organisation that asks money from the public, should be held accountable, by the same public, on how they spend funds.  Let’s say you donate to an organisation and the majority of the money goes to salaries, but they euthanize 80% or more of the animals.  Should you then be donating funds to such an organisation? They also have to be willing to make their financial statements available and on time, without constant excuses.  If they don’t, we have to suspect they hide something.  If they ask for money for Buddy’s treatment, they have to be transparent in saying we raised all the money for Buddy and this is what we are going to do with the extra funds.  It is also not good financial practice if a non-profit’s funding goes into a personal account or all of it goes through a for-profit business account.  Yes you can pay for a veterinary treatment into that organisation’s account at the vet, but anything else in terms of this is a concern to us.

Also read: Bethal SPCA faces a bleak future due to a lack of funds

If you have concerns about an organisation or want to know who to support, please contact The Paw Company via Facebook.

HERE ARE SOME EASY WAYS TO HELP ANIMAL WELFARE:

LOOKING AFTER YOUR OWN PETS –

• Sterilise your pets.
• Micro-chip or add a tag to your pet’s collar.
• Keep your pets safe in your yard and don’t let them roam the streets.
• Vaccinate your pets & keep them healthy.
• Be a responsible pet owner.
• Do not make immigration plans without your pets and then dump them on already overwhelmed organisations.
• Do not get animals if you can’t afford them.

EDUCATION –

• Educate yourself and others. EDUCATIONAL POST INDEX.
• Like, share, interact and comment on animal welfare posts.
• Leave reviews for the organisation.
• Support petitions and legislation on animal welfare.
• Teach kids compassion towards animals.

SUPPORT –

• ADOPT DON’T SHOP
• Share adoption posts.
• Support fundraisers.
• Volunteer your time.
• Donate food and other items.
• Foster if you can.
• Help those who are overwhelmed with their own animals.
• Use humane methods of ”vermin” control. READ MORE.
• Do not litter (cut plastic rings, bend tins close, cut mask strings).

OTHER –

• Report cruelty so those animals can be saved.
• Do not abandon animals & report abandonment which is a crime.
• Do not breed or support breeders.
• Do not support pet shops or any animal dealers as they promote impulse buy and irresponsible homing.
• Do not support online or ”free to good home” ads.
• Do not support Zoos and Aquariums.
• Do not support Circuses with animals in it.
• If you have to hunt, do it ethically.
• Support ethical farming if you use animal products.
• Use cruelty free cosmetics.
• Consider using non-leather or non-feather products.
• Do not interact with wildlife/petting farms.

Next week we will look at understanding animal cruelty better.

WHEN YOU KNOW BETTER, DO BETTER!