Animal Kingdom Foundation

Last updated
Animal Kingdom Foundation
Founded2002
FounderCharles Leslie Wartenberg
Type Non-governmental organization
Focus Animal welfare
Location
Coordinates 15°19′44″N120°35′49″E / 15.328832°N 120.596817°E / 15.328832; 120.596817
Website http://akf.org.ph/

Animal Kingdom Foundation or AKF, is a non-profit animal welfare non-governmental organization based in the Philippines. Founded in 2002, it is committed to "improving the living and welfare conditions of animals", eliminating the trade of dog meat for human consumption, and advocating for the improvement of animal living conditions.

Contents

History

Animal Kingdom Foundation was founded in 2002 by Charles Leslie Wartenberg, driven by his love for animals and after learning about the commonly practiced dog meat trade in the Philippines. [1] Troubled by the dog meat trade, he arranged a team intended to attempt to save dogs from slaughter and hold the perpetrators liable for their acts. Due to the prevalence of the trade in the country, numerous raids and interceptions have been conducted in various locations, saving thousands of dogs from slaughter for meat. [2]

AKF envisions a Philippine nation that is compassionate, responsible, respectful, and loving towards animals as it spearheads a passionate and dedicated animal welfare campaign resulting in every individual recognizing animals as sentient beings while embracing the tenet that compassion towards every animal is a collective responsibility humanity necessitates.

AKF established a rescue and rehabilitation center in Capas, Tarlac to provide shelter for rescued dogs. Here, the dog's medical needs are treated and rehabilitated until they're ready to be adopted by a new family. They are working and campaigning not only for the welfare and protection of companion animals but of farm animals as well.

Besides AKF's campaign for companion animals, the organization seeks to improve the quality of life for egg-laying hens throughout their laying period. This campaign encourages the use of cage-free eggs in consumers' meals and by educating egg farmers about its difference from the conventional battery cage egg farm setup used by most egg farmers.

Campaigns and programs

Ending the dog meat trade

The dog meat trade is one of the most serious animal welfare concerns in the Philippines. [ citation needed ] The availability and consumption of dog meat are widespread in various parts of the country where the welfare concern lies in the large number of dogs that are taken from the streets and slaughtered. AKF is the first organization in the Philippines to organize rescues, conducted rehabilitation, and provided rescued dogs shelters as soon as the dogs are ready and have completely recovered. It has also pursued the prosecution of dog meat traders and conducts its own surveillance, stake-outs, and raids in full coordination with the Philippine National Police in order to end this practice.

Alongside the Philippine National Police, AKF has also partnered with the Bureau of Animal Industry's – Animal Welfare Division, and National Meat Inspection Service in the implementation of the laws against animal cruelty and, most notably, against the dog meat trade.

Cage-Free, Go Cruel-Free!

The Cage-free, Go Cruel-Free! [3] is a campaign calling for the improvement of egg-laying hens' living conditions as part of the response to the rising global awareness of consumers to the practices that take place in the farm before their food reaches the market. AKF claims that in a cage-free environment, the egg-laying hens can stretch their wings, run around, and exhibit their natural behaviors.

Education, Adoption, and Care

To achieve the organization's vision of a Philippine nation that is compassionate, responsible, respectful, and loving towards animals, AKF's PEP (Pet Education Program) Squad reaches out to different schools, barangays, and universities to educate the youth about responsible pet ownership, animal welfare, rabies and bite prevention, and more.

AKF places rescued animals for adoption upon their full recovery and rehabilitation. These animals are spayed or neutered as well as vaccinated to prepare them for their new owners. The adopters undergo screening to ensure that the adopted animal will be given proper care. Animal lovers who are willing to adopt, but have no capacity to do so, can choose to sponsor a rescued animal from AKF. Sponsoring a rescued dog will help raise funds for its food, medicine, and housing while they wait for its eventual adoption.

The animals under the foundation's care are managed by various volunteer teams:

Project SNAP

Animal Kingdom Foundation's Spay, Neuter, and Adopt Program with veterinary services embodies the organization's mission of making veterinary care more accessible to underprivileged pet owners. AKF believes that Project SNAP offers a solution to dog and cat overpopulation. This collaboration with other agencies and groups is held in various communities that need animal care.

CLAWS

AKF has worked, through its CLAWS team, with various government agencies, organizations, and stakeholders in crafting and amending laws that aim to safeguard the welfare of animals making for a more animal-friendly environment.

Its CLAWS team also provides free legal assistance for animal-related cases, lobby for more comprehensive rules and laws for the animals, and give consultations on animal welfare concerns.

Disaster Response

AKF has initiated quick responses during the Mayon and Taal volcano eruptions, flooding, typhoons, and other natural disasters by providing veterinary attention, and feeding and rescue of the affected animals while also providing immediate shelter to the surviving dogs. [4]

"Voluntourist" program

Combining volunteering and sightseeing, "Voluntourism" according to the AKF is a new form of travel that allows tourists, to contribute to sustainable development while also exploring new places and cultures. AKF says that adventure seekers find that doing volunteer work while on vacation is the best way to experience the best of both worlds.[ citation needed ]

We Feed as One

"We Feed as One" was initiated after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the Philippine government to institute a lockdown. The "We Feed As One" initiative was created to find ways to go out and feed the strays, source out animal food, and help struggling shelters. [5]

Facilities

AKF Rescue and Rehabilitation Center

The AKF Rescue and Rehabilitation Center is located in Capas, Tarlac where it serves as a sanctuary for more than 100 rescued dogs. Here, the rescued dogs get to play around with other dogs and bond with humans as part of their rehabilitation. The AKF shelter is also home to animals such as cats, goats, pigs, and cage-free egg-laying hens.

Clinic

Apart from tending to the needs of the organization's rescued dogs, AKF's low-cost clinic is also open to the public for veterinary services (e.g. veterinary consultation, hospitalization, grooming and hygiene, and vaccine & immunization). [6]

Related Research Articles

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing animal cruelty. Based in New York City since its inception in 1866, the organization's mission is "to provide effective means for the prevention of cruelty to animals throughout the United States."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pet adoption</span> Adoption of pets that have been abandoned by previous owners

Pet adoption is the process of transferring responsibility for a pet that was previously owned by another party. Common sources for adoptable pets are animal shelters, rescue groups, or other pet owners. Some organizations give adopters ownership of the pet, while others use a guardianship model wherein the organization retains some control over the animal's future use or care.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Animal shelter</span> Place where stray animals are housed

An animal shelter or pound is a place where stray, lost, abandoned or surrendered animals – mostly dogs and cats – are housed. The word "pound" has its origins in the animal pounds of agricultural communities, where stray livestock would be penned or impounded until they were claimed by their owners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Free range</span> Method of farming where animals can roam freely outdoors

Free range denotes a method of farming husbandry where the animals, for at least part of the day, can roam freely outdoors, rather than being confined in an enclosure for 24 hours each day. On many farms, the outdoors ranging area is fenced, thereby technically making this an enclosure, however, free range systems usually offer the opportunity for the extensive locomotion and sunlight that is otherwise prevented by indoor housing systems. Free range may apply to meat, eggs or dairy farming.

An animal rescue group or animal rescue organization is a group dedicated to pet adoption. These groups take abandoned, abused, or stray pets and attempt to find suitable homes for them. Many rescue groups are created by and run by volunteers, who take animals into their homes and care for them—including training, playing, handling medical issues, and solving behavior problems—until a suitable permanent home can be found.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Animal Protection</span> International non-profit animal welfare organization

World Animal Protection, formerly The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA), is an international non-profit animal welfare organization that has been in operation since 1981. The charity's mission is to create a better world for animals by protecting them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dogs Trust</span> Largest dog welfare charity in the United Kingdom (started in 1891)

Dogs Trust, known until 2003 as the National Canine Defence League, is a British animal welfare charity and humane society which specialises in the well-being of dogs. It is the largest dog welfare charity in the United Kingdom, caring for over 15,000 animals each year. Dogs Trust's primary objective is to protect all dogs in the UK and elsewhere from maltreatment, cruelty and suffering. It focuses on the rehabilitation and rehoming of dogs which have been either abandoned or given up by their owners through rehoming services.

A no-kill shelter is an animal shelter that does not kill healthy or treatable animals based on time limits or capacity, reserving euthanasia for terminally ill animals, animals suffering poor quality of life, or those considered dangerous to public safety. Some no-kill shelters will commit to not killing any animals at all, under any circumstance, except as required by law. A no-kill shelter uses many strategies to promote shelter animals; to expanding its resources using volunteers, housing and medical protocols; and to work actively to lower the number of homeless animals entering the shelter system. Up to ten percent of animals could be killed in a no-kill shelter and still be considered a no-kill shelter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battery cage</span> Agricultural technology

Battery cages are a housing system used for various animal production methods, but primarily for egg-laying hens. The name arises from the arrangement of rows and columns of identical cages connected, in a unit, as in an artillery battery. Although the term is usually applied to poultry farming, similar cage systems are used for other animals. Battery cages have generated controversy between advocates for animal welfare and industrial producers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poultry farming</span> Part of animal husbandry

Poultry farming is the form of animal husbandry which raises domesticated birds such as chickens, ducks, turkeys and geese to produce meat or eggs for food. Poultry – mostly chickens – are farmed in great numbers. More than 60 billion chickens are killed for consumption annually. Chickens raised for eggs are known as layers, while chickens raised for meat are called broilers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philippine Animal Welfare Society</span> Organization

The Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) is a volunteer-based, non-government organization whose goal is to prevent animal cruelty through education, animal sheltering and advocacy, based in Quezon City, Philippines. It was founded in 1954 by Muriel Jay. PAWS believes that the creation of a more peaceful society starts with the widening of mankind's circle of compassion which includes animals, thereby envisions a nation that respects animals, practices responsible pet ownership and protects wildlife. The volunteer-based organization rehabilitates these animals in the hope of finding them new homes and a second chance at a good life. PAWS does not take in pets of other people, but only victims of cruelty or neglect where the animal offenders are charged with violation of the Animal Welfare Act in court.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Compassion and Responsibility for Animals</span> Organization in the Philippines

Compassion and Responsibility for Animals (CARA) is a registered non-profit, non-government animal welfare organization in the Philippines. It was founded in 2000 by a group of animal lovers determined to help the plight of animals in the Philippines. The current president of CARA is Nancy Cu-Unjieng.

The Davinci Foundation for Animals (DFA) is an American 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that assists animals in need, both locally and globally. The Foundation is funded through donations and through the support of the arts, which includes but is not limited to artists, authors, musicians, and entertainers. The foundation is the creator of "Davinci Artist/s", a rescue movement that supports and inspires artists of all fields to support rescue and animal welfare through their work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soi Dog Foundation</span> Thai nonprofit organisation

Soi Dog Foundation is a nonprofit organisation dedicated to improving the welfare of stray dogs and cats across Asia. Its headquarters is in Phuket, Thailand, and it is a legally registered nonprofit organisation in Thailand, US, Canada, Australia, France, UK, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. Its primary goal is to care for homeless and abused dogs in Thailand.

Animal welfare and rights in Indonesia regards the treatment of and laws concerning non-human animals in Indonesia. Indonesia has limited animal welfare regulations by international standards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Four Paws</span> Global animal welfare organisation based in Vienna, Austria

Four Paws is a global animal welfare organisation based in Vienna, Austria. It focuses on improving the living conditions of animals under direct human influence, by revealing suffering, rescuing animals in need, and protecting them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susy Utzinger Animal Welfare Foundation</span> Swiss non-profit organization

The Susy Utzinger Animal Welfare Foundation is a Swiss non-profit organisation that was founded by Susy Utzinger on September 7, 2000. The organisation is based in Kollbrunn in the Canton of Zürich. The mission of the foundation is to improve the quality of animal shelters and animal welfare projects, to prevent animal suffering and to promote animal welfare at the national and international level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Network for Animals</span> Animal welfare organization

Network for Animals (NFA) is an animal welfare organization that provides logistical and financial support for related initiatives in various countries. Headquartered in the United Kingdom and with offices in the United States and South Africa, the current CEO is co-founder Gloria Davies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Animal welfare and rights in Goa</span>

Animal welfare and rights in Goa refers to campaigns undertaken in the region of Goa, on the west coast of India, which has been on the rise in recent years. Goa is a popular tourist destination, visited by those from abroad and the rest of India, and concerns over animal rights has been built up both by local and visitor campaigns over the same.

Sulala Animal Rescue (سلالة), also known as Sulala Society, is an animal shelter in the Gaza Strip founded by Saeed Al-Err in 2006. In addition to operating as a stray animal shelter and vet, the organisation seeks to promote the welfare of animals through education.

References

  1. "How Charles Wartenberg changed life for thousands of dogs in the Philippines". Animal People Forum. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  2. "Bureau of Animal Industry steps in against inhumane practice of Dog Meat Trade". Philippine Official Gazette. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  3. "Cage-Free Poultry Housing, An Alternative to Battery Cages". Agriculture.com.ph. 19 January 2020. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  4. "Animals rescued in areas affected by Taal eruption suffer eye, skin irritation". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  5. "AKF's Programs". AKF Website. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  6. "The AKF Rescue Center". AKF Website. Retrieved November 5, 2020.