We are excited to share the latest World Animal Day grant winner with you!
This year, the main grant has been awarded to Ocean Acres Animal Sanctuary in Barbados.
As you may know, the World Animal Day grant is sponsored by Naturewatch Foundation and is awarded annually to one or a couple, of World Animal Day ambassadors annually to support animal welfare projects.
It can be very challenging to pick our winner/s when we have so many strong applications every year and this year was no different.
The 2024 World Animal Day grant was worth £10,000, an increase that we made last year to support animal welfare projects on a greater level amidst global cost increases and we are looking forward to seeing this money be put to use!
Main grant
This year’s main winner is Ocean Acres Animal Sanctuary, is dedicated to rescuing and rehoming abused and abandoned dogs and cats in Barbados.
The organisation also strives to understand and address what is causing the animal neglect and abuse that they see regularly, running children’s clubs and community outreach programmes that aim to help people understand and care for their animals better.
Ocean Acres Animal Sanctuary have submitted an ambitious and exciting proposal that encompasses all areas of their work that they think will improve animal welfare directly within, Messiah Street, St. John, an area that currently has very high areas of animal neglect and abuse. Sadly, the animals there are often skeletal, injured and suffering from high parasite infections. Ocean Acres would like to deliver care to those animals, whilst also instilling compassion in people within the community so that the cycles of neglect and abuse do not continue.
There is a very high number of strays within the area too that the organisation would like to help and address.
We have awarded them with £8718, which will be split between:
- Reducing the stray population through running monthly spay and neuter sessions.
- Providing rescue and rehabilitation services to animals who need it, ensuring that the animals receive the care they need right up until they are adopted.
- Running community workshops and educational sessions on understanding animals and providing care.
Ocean Acres hopes that the carefully planned format of this project will be something that can be rolled out to other low-welfare areas too, meaning that the World Animal Day grant will be covering a project that may have an even wider-reaching positive impact!
We look forward to hearing about the animals that the help and the educational projects that they deliver!
Mini-grant
We also hoped to award a mini-grant of £1,500 to the Sudanese Animal Care and Environmental Protection Organisation, for a well-deserved vaccination and education project.
The project aimed to vaccinate donkeys, horses, and dogs who had been removed from warzones and who had not had access to this preventative care. The organisation would also educate animal carers and empower them to provide the best care possible so that, with some guidance, they may be able to form an animal welfare committee and provide support to others with animals.
Sadly, due to the ongoing war in Sudan and the resulting restrictions on sending money internationally through the banking system to organisations in the country, we have been unable to get the grant to them. Our thoughts are with our World Animal Day ambassador, Mustafa, and the people and animals of Sudan at this difficult time.
The World Animal Day grant isn’t possible without you
We are so grateful to have the support of our World Animal Day ambassadors, and it is wonderful to be able to offer the World Animal Day grant to enable their vital animal welfare projects.
And we would not be able to provide that vital support without YOU! By supporting Naturewatch Foundation, you enable us to run the World Animal Day grant scheme and help animals globally.
We, and the animals, thank you, and we look forward to sharing updates with you!
Get involved on World Animal Day this year!
To find out more about World Animal Day, our fantastic team of voluntary ambassadors and how you can make a difference for animals on October 4, please visit the website.
Please note this content was updated on 26th September 2024.
