Who we are:
The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) is a global animal welfare organization that works internationally and
locally to end animal cruelty through field work, campaigning and humane education.
Vision: A world where animal welfare matters and animal cruelty has ended.
History of WSPA:
WSPA's present structure was created in 1981 through the merging of the World Federation for the Protection of Animals (WFPA),
founded in 1953, and the International Society for the Protection of Animals (ISPA), founded in 1959.
From its original bases in the UK and the US, WSPA has extended and enhanced the work with new field offices being established
in Costa Rica, Brazil, Colombia and Canada. Today, WSPA has 15 offices and hundreds of thousands of supporters worldwide.
What we work on:
WSPA is focused on four priority animal welfare areas:
- Companion animals - Promotion of responsible pet ownership, humane stray management and cruelty prevention.
- Commercial exploitation of wildlife - Campaigning against cruelty and killing of wild animals for food, by-products
or entertainment.
- Farm animals - Working against intensive factory farming, long distance transport and inhumane slaughter of animals
for food products.
- Disaster management - Providing care to animals suffering from man-made or natural disasters and creating awareness
to protect people's livelihoods during unavoidable circumstances.
WSPA focuses on working towards some of the world's most urgent animal welfare issues.
Some highlights from 2010:
- More than 140,000 dogs were vaccinated against rabies and saved from inhumane culling in Bali, Indonesia.
- 10,000 Canadian supporters of WSPA have urged their MPs to Curb the Cruelty inflicted on millions of farm animals
that arrive stressed, injured or dead at their destinations. This has led the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to double the
fines for violations of welfare of transported livestock.
- 140,000 supporters voted against bull fighting in Catalonia leading to a total ban of this cruel sport by Parliament from
January 2012.
- 120,000 supporters voted against bear farming in South Korea that has resulted in urging the parliament to phase out of
these cruel operations.
- More than 50,000 animals were treated for injuries and diseases in the most hard-struck areas of earthquake in Haiti.
- More than 6,000 animals were fed and treated after the devastating floods in Pakistan.
To read more about our past successes, and catch up on all our current animal welfare work, please visit our website:
www.wspa.ca
