World
Animal Day is an international day of action for animal rights and welfare
celebrated annually on October 4, the feast day of Francis of Assisi, the
patron saint of animals.
The
mission of World Animal Day is "To raise the status of animals in order to
improve welfare standards around the globe. Building the celebration of World
Animal Day unites the animal welfare movement, mobilising it into a global force
to make the world a better place for all animals. It's celebrated in different
ways in every country, irrespective of nationality, religion, faith or
political ideology. Through increased awareness and education, we can create a
world where animals are always recognised as sentient beings and full regard is
always paid to their welfare."
History
World
Animal Day was originated by Heinrich Zimmermann. He organized the first World
Animal Day on 24 March 1925 at the Sport Palace in Berlin, Germany. Over 5,000
people attended this first event. The event was originally scheduled for 4
October, to align with the feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi, patron saint
of ecology, however the venue was not available on that day. The event was
moved to 4 October for the first time in 1929. Initially he found a following
only in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Czechoslovakia. Every year Zimmermann
worked tirelessly on the promotion of World Animal Day. Finally, in May 1931 at
a congress of the International Animal Protection Congress in Florence Italy,
his proposal to make 4 October World Animal Day universal, was unanimously
accepted and adopted as a resolution.
It is
sometimes cited, incorrectly, that World Animal Day started in 1931 at the
convention of ecologists in Florence, Italy who wished to highlight the plight
of endangered species.
Today,
World Animal Day is a global event uniting the animal protection movement, led
and sponsored by UK-based animal welfare charity, Naturewatch Foundation since
2003.
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