We are World Animal Protection
We end the needless suffering of animals
We influence decision makers to put animals on the global
agenda
We help the world see how important animals are to all of us
We inspire people to change animals’ lives for the better
We move the world to protect animals
We were known as WSPA (World Society for the Protection of
Animals)
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We have moved the world to protect animals for more than 50 years. We want a world without animal cruelty, where animal welfare is a primary consideration when seeking solutions to global challenges. But while our name has changed, our determination to protect animals remains as strong as ever. We have grown, and so has our influence. And, just like our supporters worldwide, we know change is always possible–because we have been transforming animals’ lives since 1950. World Animal Protection: key dates
1950: The World Federation for the Protection of Animals (WFPA) is formed
1959: The International Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPA) is formed
1981: WFPA and ISPA merge to become WSPA–the World Society for the Protection of Animals
2014: We become World Animal Protection
A history of protecting animals everywhere
We have always moved wherever the need for animal protection is greatest–from treating more than 70,000 animals following the Haiti earthquake in 2010, to training vets in Thailand, to ending bear dancing across India in 2012, to investigating animal trafficking in El Salvador. And as we have grown, we’ve focused on protecting more animals in more places. Today, we have regional hubs in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America, and offices in 15 countries. A history of disaster work
Ever since ‘Operation Gwamba’, when we rescued 10,000 animals from floodwaters in Suriname in 1964, we have protected hundreds of thousands of animals in disasters. We have responded to earthquakes, tsunamis, typhoons, tornados, volcano eruptions, cyclones and shipwrecks. We have saved animals in conflicts from Bosnia to Rwanda to Afghanistan. And, today, we move faster than ever to protect animals when disaster strikes. A history of campaigning
We have campaigned for lasting change for decades. Launched in 1985, our campaign against bullfighting moved almost 50 cities in France and Spain to ban bullfighting. In the same decade, India banned the trade in frogs’ legs after six years of WSPA campaigning–saving more than 30 million frogs annually. And in the 1990s, our Liberty campaign helped to outlaw bear dancing in Greece, Turkey and most of India. Today, we keep piling on the pressure. A history of global action
We have moved international organizations to protect animals for many years. As WSPA, we began lobbying the EU in the 1980s, were given consultative status at the UN in 1981 and by the 1990s had been represented at the Council of Europe. And we are now the only animal protection organisation to regularly address the UN. Find out how we are moving the UN to act today.
