Help SPANA Improve the Welfare of Working Animals by Voting for Them in June's Charity Poll

This June, we have the incredible SPANA taking part in the My Favourite Voucher Codes charity poll. SPANA helps working animals around the world to receive proper care and treatment they need, and they have been fighting for these animals now for 100 years! Find out more about this incredible charity below and find out how you can make a difference to the lives of working animals.

SPANA – The Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad is the global charity for the working animals of the world. Since its foundation in 1923, SPANA has worked to improve the welfare of working animals, including horses, donkeys, mules, elephants, oxen and camels. By doing the jobs of trucks, tractors and taxis, working animals are vital to people’s livelihoods and the survival of communities. Yet despite their important role, few of these animals have access to basic veterinary care and support.

About SPANA’s Work

Operating a lifesaving network of veterinary centres and mobile clinics around the world, SPANA delivers hundreds of thousands of treatments for sick and injured working animals each year. In addition to ensuring the lifesaving treatment of working animals in need, They also run programmes to train owners in good animal care and teach children about animal welfare.

The aim of SPANA’s work is to develop working animal welfare as part of a world where animals, people and the environment are all considered, respected and can grow and thrive together. Their vision is a world where every working animal lives a healthy and valued life.

Free Veterinary Treatment

For working animals, simple injuries can become fatal if they’re left untreated. Many communities don’t have access to veterinary care, and in those that do, owners often struggle to afford feed, equipment and medical care for their animals. Veterinary treatment from SPANA is often the animal’s best chance of survival, and in the last year, the charity provided more than 480,000 free treatments to animals in need. They provide a network of clinics at centres in locations across the world, while mobile clinics are there to provide vital care in even the most remote and isolated areas. These clinics are able to vaccinate, treat injuries, and replace equipment that causes wounds to the animal.

Animal Welfare Training

Many injuries to working animals are preventable if there is a basic knowledge of animal care, which is why SPANA offers animal welfare training in low-income countries. In the last year, the charity trained more than 89,000 animal owners as well as more than 3,400 veterinary students and professionals. In addition, SPANA provided animal welfare education for more than 87,000 children, delivering education that can effectively transform the communities these animals work within.

Working Animal Welfare Education

Since the very beginning, SPANA has worked towards a world where working animals are valued. The charity provides fun and engaging sessions at their centres, as well as mobile exhibitions in order to teach children about working animal welfare. This includes developing knowledge about working animals, And, at their centres, children can also enjoy hands-on encounters with friendly donkeys, guinea pigs and rabbits.

100 Years of Helping Working Animals

In 2023, SPANA is celebrating a huge 100 years of working animal welfare!

SPANA’s story began in the early 1920s, when Kate Hosali and her daughter Nina visited North Africa as tourists. As they explored the countryside and saw rural communities and farms, they also observed some dreadful sights of donkeys, horses, mules and camels working in the most awful conditions. This included animals who had injuries from poorly fitted and poorly made harnesses; and malnourished animals who were pulling carts and hauling heavy loads with their thin legs buckling under the weight.

These working animals lived difficult lives, suffering pain, injuries and weakness but having to work through it all with no access to professional veterinary care.

Kate and Nina decided these noble, hardworking animals deserved better than a life of suffering and, once back home, they founded SPANA in 1923 – taking the first step in creating a more compassionate world for working animals.

SPANA’s Early Expansion

In the years that followed, SPANA expanded across North Africa to help animals in Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco. Even as the Second World War tore North Africa apart, SPANA’s dedicated teams worked on. They rebuilt their operations in the post-war years, opening new veterinary clinics and stepping up its education programme.

SPANA was expanding into the Middle East and West and East Africa by the 1980s and 1990s, developing well beyond its North African roots.

In recent years, they have opened new programmes across the world. The charity has also developed emergency projects, which help animals and communities in times of crisis.

Today

As SPANA marks its centenary in 2023, the charity is facing record demand for its help. Rising global poverty and inequality are leaving owners struggling to care for, feed and even keep their animals. Other risks, such as zoonotic diseases, the global Donkey Skins Trade and the growing impact of climate change, are proving particularly difficult on countries which rely on working animals.

Kate and Nina Hosali’s determination to improve working animal welfare remains at the heart of SPANA’s work today. The charity remains committed to fulfil their mission, that SPANA – in Kate Hosali’s words – ‘will continue until they all get cured’.

How You Can Help SPANA This June

It is entirely thanks to the generosity of their supporters that SPANA are able to provide veterinary care and support to working animals in need. During this difficult time, with climate change and the cost-of-living crisis proving particularly difficult for countries which rely on working animals, They are still striving to improve the welfare of working animals, which is why we have teamed up with them for our June charity poll.

Cast your vote for SPANA this June and help them to win 20% of this month’s profits. Find out more about their work, including how you can support them further, by visiting their website.

If SPANA has your vote, then don’t forget to head over to our Homepage to cast your vote for them today. The poll opens on 1st June 2023 and will close on 30th June 2023 at midnight. Get your votes in now and help working animals get the care and compassion they deserve.