Working with Animal Welfare

Many people are drawn to volunteer work with animals and the work can vary tremendously and is extremely rewarding. However the over-riding factor in people choosing to work in this area is that they are passionate about animals and that they want to contribute to making the world a better place for domestic pets or wildlife.

Because many of the voluntary work opportunities are provided by charities all operating under limited funds, people who choose to volunteer in this sector will often find that they are highly appreciated and valued as well as the volunteers themselves getting a lot out of a placement.

The Well-Known Charities

If you’re unsure of where to start, it’s a good idea to do a bit of background research with some of the larger well-known charities. These include:

• The RSPCA
• Blue Cross
• National Animal Welfare Trust
• RSPB
• Worldwide Fund for Nature
• Battersea Dogs Home Trust
• PDSA
• Cats Protection League.

These organisations in particular will give you some useful pointers if you’re looking for volunteer work with animals. You may also want to check out your local newspaper and phone directory as you’re bound to find a number of charities involved in animal welfare within easy access of where you live.

Animal Welfare Issues

There are those who get more out of working directly with animals, e.g. helping out with kennel duties, feeding or caring for abandoned pets or helping with wounded wildlife but voluntary work is not limited to these activities. On the contrary, charities such as Animal Aid, the League Against Cruel Sports, the IFAW and WSPA are much more involved with campaigning for actual animal rights where their work is more likely to be office-based away from any direct contact with animals. This type of work might appeal to those who don’t necessarily wish to work with animals directly, but who wish to play a more educational role in highlighting animal rights issues and campaigning for their improvement. These issues can include:

• Inhumane slaughtering
• Hunting
• Methods of animal farming
• Dog fighting
• The illegal importation exotic animals
• The overpopulation of domestic animals, which leads to the abandonment of pets.

So, if you feel passionately about any of these issues, you may want to volunteer your services in perhaps a fundraising, campaigning or administrative role where you’ll get the opportunity to try to make a difference in the improvement of animal welfare on a much larger scale.

Typical Roles

Such are the extent of the problems and issues facing animal welfare charities that the kind of volunteer roles that are available are virtually limitless. In addition to the direct care of unwanted or injured animals as well as fundraising or campaigning, some of the more common roles that animal welfare charities are looking to fill can include:

• Re-homing abandoned pets
• Providing an animal ambulance service
• Investigating and responding to animal cruelty complaints
• Visiting schools and outdoor events to hold educational road shows
• Providing 24 hour emergency phone cover
• Help with training and behavioural problems of pets and much more besides.

What is for certain, however, is that, if you have a love of animals, you’ll never be short of opportunities to ‘make a difference’ and you’ll help to improve the lives of creatures that simply don’t have a voice of their own to make a difference for themselves.