What do Animal Charities do?

Animal charities protect pets, wildlife, and endangered species of animals. Generally, each charity organization will have a focus on some categories of animals. These organizations train people to treat animals with respect and also provide humane training to animals to use them as helpmates and companions.

Animal Charities are of Different Types

Animal charities are plenty and are of different types. They may be large organizations with a global presence (eg. The WWF, World Wide Fund for Nature) or small ones with local identity (eg. Nature Forever, Coimbatore).  Many of them focus on a single species of animal (eg. Amur Leopard) while others address a group of animals like birds or monkeys or any other animal (eg. Marine Conservation Society for Marine Creatures). Still, others have a very broad outlook which protects an entire range of species of animals (eg. ENCAP for the protection of wildlife in captivity). Sometimes big organization like the Bird Life International will be formed as a consortium of several small animal charities.

Roles of Animal Charities

All animal charities have their own defined roles and few will play multiple roles as well. The major roles of animal charities include:

Habitat Conservation : The natural habitats of animals like the forests or grasslands or rivers and reservoirs are protected and nourished to ensure free and vast natural homes for a wide range of wild animals. Animal charities like the Land Trust, Woodland Trust, Fauna & Flora, etc. are a few examples of this category of animal charities.

Rescue Care : This type of animal charities are engaged in emergency rescue and care for animals in distress. The care is extended for both pets and wild life. People for Animals India, Stray Relief and Animal Welfare (STRAW), etc. are some of the animal charities offering rescue care for animals in India.

Disaster Management : These animal charities provide disaster relief and rescue operations to save animals caught in natural calamities or any other critical situations. They provide emergency critical care to the victim animals and operational assistance to the rescue and relief of pet animals and wildlife. International Fund for Animal  Welfare ( IFAW) and World Animal Protection (WAP) are some of the popular  animal charities of this category.

Specialist Support to Animal Charities : These are organizations which provide specific services or products to animal charities. For example,  Snip International is a specialist support concern for animal charities, which provides specialized devices for trapping, catching and holding cats to charities working on rescue and rehabilitation of abandoned or lost cats. Snip International has its presence in 60 countries.  Another similar organization is the Rhino Ark, which constructed an electric fence around the Mau Eburu Forest in Kenya for the conservation of the Black Rhino population (Eburu Fence Project) in South Africa.

Animal Rescue and Re-home : These are animal charities  working on rescue and re-home of pets abandoned for different reasons.

Care for Retired Animals : Domestic animals used for different purposes turn old and reach a condition where they can not perform their expected service like ploughing, milking, guarding etc. Grey Hound Trust is a leading example of this type of animal charities taking care of retired gray hound dogs.

Problem Solving : This type of animal charities focus on certain problems in animal –human interaction and conflicts. For example, Cinnamon Trust is an organization which focusses and extends solution on caring of the pet by disabled or aged people, when they no more can take care of their pets. The trust arranges for pet care of the needy and finds home for the aged suitable for sharing with the pets.

Creating Animal-Human Bond : These animal charities promote pet care among people, especially among lonely people, kids, etc. Assistance Dogs, UK is an example of this type of organization.

Animal Charities focused on Cows

Amruthdhara Goushala : This is a group of goushalas run by Sri Ramachandrapura Mutt, Hosnagara, Karnataka, one of the major animal charities dedicated for the conservation of Indian cow breeds.  There are 13 Amruthadhara Goushalas distributed in different states like Karnataka, Kerala, and Maharashtra. This is one of the pioneering conservation projects on Indian cow breeds, initiated by the mutt and sheltering large population of more than 30 indigenous cow breeds distributed in different Goushalas of the mutt. The mutt has a commercial unit dedicated for the development, production and promotion of commercial products from the cow milk dung and urine.

Surabhivana Goushala : This is a unique animal charity organization focused on the conservation of Indian Cow Breeds and promotion of Cowpathy as an alternative medicine. Surabhivana is a shelter for a variety of indigenous Cow Breeds, run by the charitable trust, Om Prakruthi Dhama, Mangalore.

Dakshin Vrindavan : A Bangalore based NGO with a mission of rescue and rehabilitation of cows from slaughter houses and conservation of Indian cow breeds. They have their rehabilitation Goushala near Palakkad, Kerala. This organization has rescued and rehabilitated more than 500 cows so far and striving to meet its mission.