Honoring World Animal Day 2021

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Today we commemorate World Animal Day (WAD), an international movement and campaign designed to elevate the status of all animals by improving welfare standards across the globe.¹ Government departments, community groups, animal welfare organizations, celebrities, and beyond coordinate empowering events including the awareness and education of all animal species worldwide.

Interested in discovering how your veterinary clinic can contribute to World Animal Day? Here are a few ways to demonstrate support:²

• Display posters around the clinic or on social media using this printable World Animal Day flyer or creating your own highlighting the Five Freedoms of Animal Welfare³
• Make a social media post and use the hashtag #WorldAnimalDay
• Submit an article to a newspaper or magazine emphasizing an animal welfare issue to raise awareness
• Ask colleagues to sign the World Animal Day pledge board⁴ and proclaim a formal dedication to promoting animal welfare
• Attend an event⁵ in honor of WAD and encourage colleagues to join (if there aren’t anyone in the area, there may be some online)

Additionally, check out these fun facts surrounding World Animal Day:

• World Animal Day has been celebrated for 96 years⁶
• Over 1,000 WAD events occur internationally each year⁵
• Various celebrities across the globe support the campaign⁷
• The organization currently has a team of 93 ambassadors representing 73 countries globally⁸
• WAD broke records in 2019 by trending in 56 countries on October 4, 2019, and reaching 39 million people⁹

So, what are you waiting for? Today’s the day you can start making a change by supporting animal welfare and getting involved with World Animal Day, (though every day you can contribute to the cause!).

References

1. About World Animal Day. World Animal Day. Accessed October 4, 2021. https://www.worldanimalday.org.uk/media_centre
2. Get an idea – veterinary practices. World Animal Day. Accessed October 4, 2021. https://www.worldanimalday.org.uk/get_an_idea_for_veterinary_practices
3. American Humane. Five Freedoms: The gold standard of animal welfare. October 17, 2016. Accessed October 4, 2021. https://www.americanhumane.org/blog/five-freedoms-the-gold-standard-of-animal-welfare/
4. Every pledge makes a difference. What will yours be? World Animal Day. Accessed October 4, 2021. https://www.worldanimalday.org.uk/pledges
5. Events. World Animal Day. Accessed October 4, 2021. https://www.worldanimalday.org.uk/events
6. The origin of World Animal Day. World Animal Day. Accessed October 4, 2021. https://www.worldanimalday.org.uk/img/resource/Origin%20of%20World%20Animal%20Day.pdf
7. Celebrity support. World Animal Day. Accessed October 4, 2021. https://www.worldanimalday.org.uk/celebrity
8. Ambassadors. World Animal Day. Accessed October 4, 2021. https://www.worldanimalday.org.uk/ambassadors
9. World Animal Day 2019 broke all previous records! World Animal Day. Accessed October 4, 2021. https://www.worldanimalday.org.uk/world_animal_day_2019_broke_all_previous_records