Animal Awards is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to supporting animal charities everywhere.

We provide animal charities with FREE online fundraising tools to help them grow and we’re funded by donations and sponsorship from forward-thinking individuals and businesses who want to show their support for animal charities.

Rescue

Animal rescue consists of seeking out and helping domestic and wild animals in distress. This usually relies on calls from the public with concerns over a particular animal's well-being. Sometimes if a species is particularly vulnerable charities can position a team of animal rescue staff in a specific location to be on hand in readiness. Examples of this are in April when rescuers often go out and close roads to help toads cross to their breeding grounds. Other circumstances of rescue may include a pet (such as a Dog, a Cat or a Horse etc) that has been abandoned or has been with previous abusive owners.

Rehoming

Rehoming charities tend to focus on domestic animals and pets such as Cats, Dogs, Horses, Birds and Lizards. They work with the animals to help cure any health issues, remedy behavioural problems and most importantly, help the animal to trust people again. This is especially important for animals with a history of abuse. The ultimate goal of these charities is to give these pets a second chance and help them find their forever home. Making sure the animal is ready to find a new home and the owners are a good match for the animal.

Wild Animal Rehabilitation

Wild Animal Rehabilitation is the work of preparing an animal for release back into the wild. This would be necessary for injured wild animals in need of urgent care, young animals reared in a captive breeding environment or animals incorrectly domesticated, who would not be accustomed to conditions in the wild. The whole purpose of wild animal rehabilitation charities is to ensure all wild animals that have been injured or captive are healthy and ready to be reintroduced safely to their natural living environments and to be reunited with their family.

Healthcare

Animal healthcare charities do many things all focussed on animal well-being. Some healthcare charities set up animal hospitals to help treat animals who may not have access to veterinary care, others will focus on animals used for labour, sport and even animals in public services such as sniffer dogs. There are also charities that offer free health care to pets for owners who may not be able to afford veterinary care such as homeless people with dogs. The main goal of healthcare charities is to make sure animals are free of injury, illness, pain and suffering.

Conservation

Animal conservation charities focus on vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered wild animals. Their work can be in a zoo, carrying out research on species or captive breeding programs to build population numbers. Other animal conservation charities will work on nature reserves to preserve habitats and introduce species to boost biodiversity. The main goal of animal conservation charities is to avoid the extinction of species where possible and improve living standards for wildlife.

Welfare and Legislation

Welfare and Legislation charities focus on making sure places like boarding homes for animals and animal shelters meet the required welfare standards for animals. Their work can consist of welfare checks at homes, surprise inspections of establishments and advice on licensing. Some charities have the authority to shut down animal establishments should they fail to meet the required standards and therefore work closely with rehoming and rescue charities. Their main goal is to ensure anyone involved with the housing of animals is well-informed and has the animal's best interests at the forefront of everything they do.