21.09.26
The wait is over! We are delighted to announce the winner of Naturewatch Foundation’s 2026 World Animal Day ‘Design a Mug’ competition.
With over 400 wonderful entries from 28 countries around the world, our judges had the very tricky task of choosing just one winner. Entries came from countries including Canada, India, South Africa, Australia, the USA and across Europe, showcasing an incredible range of creativity and love for animals.
After much deliberation, we are thrilled to reveal that this year’s winning design came from Louisa (aged 15) from Canada, with her beautiful illustration of two toucans. Louisa’s design captured the joyful spirit of World Animal Day perfectly.
Louisa shared the inspiration behind the design:
“The colours of toucans brought a sense of brightness and energy that immediately caught my attention. I decided to use toucans to represent wildlife and to show the beauty and diversity of the natural world.
I thought placing the birds close together would show that they belong together and rely on one another to survive in the wild. I also wanted to show the importance of protecting the natural environment they depend on, so I added tropical, vibrant plants around them. This represents how protecting their environment also helps protect the animals that live there.”
Buy your very own World Animal Day mug!
Louisa’s creation has been brought to life on our special edition 2026 mugs, which are now available to buy from our shop. And if you missed out in previous years, the outstanding 2024 and 2025 designs are still available too – why not start a collection? Each mug you buy goes directly to supporting our animal welfare campaigns.
Our wonderful runners-up
This year’s competition saw entries from all corners of the globe, from the USA to Kenya! With so many inspiring designs, we couldn’t choose just one winner. Congratulations also go to our talented runners-up across the different age categories, whose prizes are on their way to them!
Jija – runner-up in the under 5 age category
Yakup – runner-up in the age 5-10 category
Reylan – runner-up in the age 11-16 category
Molly-Ann – runner-up in the age 17+ category
A few special mentions
This year, due to an outstanding level of artwork, we also awarded special mentions to the six wonderful entrants below. Congratulations!
- Leon, age 5
- Amelia, age 7
- Shikha, age 11
- Clementine, age 12
- Shriya, age 12
- Raina, age 13
Congratulations once again to Louisa for her winning design, and thank you to everyone who took part in making this year’s competition such a joy. We can’t wait to see what creative ideas 2027 will bring!
Find out more about World Animal Day and how you can get involved on the World Animal Day website.
