January

Our first rescue of the year was tigresses Samba and Kenya who were rescued from a travelling circus in Czech Republic. They now call FELIDA Big Cat Sanctuary in the Netherlands home.  

March

March brought our first bear rescue as we saved Rocky from a life of cruelty as he had previously been involved in bear baiting. Now he has a life free from suffering and even has a new friend, another bear called Bantu.

April

In early April we launched a call to action urging Brittany Ferries to undo their U-turn of transporting unweaned calves. Over 12,000 of you emailed the CEO and in collaboration with our international colleagues and other NGOs head personnel at the ferry company received over 200,000 emails.  

As April progressed, we saw millions of chickens, tens of thousands of pigs: all protected as our call for West Norfolk to reject a proposal to expand a Cranswick Factory Farm was successful!

May

This month saw the launch of our report on the flaws and geographical inequalities in dog breeding licence enforcement across the UK.  

June

We headed to Downing Street to hand in the signatures of 1.5 million who support a call for a Fur Free Britain. This support was a big moment in the campaign and represents the unwavering demands of the British public in the face of the cruel fur trade.  

Over 100,000 animal champions joined Dame Joanna Lumley in calling for the Government to end the caged keeping of farmed animals in the UK. The topic was debated in Parliament on 16 June.  

July

Sadly, 1 July marked a decade since Cecil the lion was brutally killed by a trophy hunter. We gathered Parliamentarians, including the Minister of Animal Welfare Baroness Hayman along with other NGOs to mark this sad milestone and renew calls for legislation to end the import of hunting trophies into the UK. 

September

After signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) earlier in the year, in September our teams headed to Argentina to start alleviating the urgent welfare crisis at former Zoo Luján. With over 60 big cats and two bears in need of our help, the future started to look up for these animals.

November

We visited Michael Kors store in central London to urge them to protect lambs and instead to commit to only using wool free from live lamb cutting. Across the globe, 88,000 of you have emailed Michael Kors asking them to stop failing lambs. 

December

A monumental moment for companion animals was unlocked when the Animal Welfare (Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Act became law. The Act introduces tough new import restrictions and closes legal loopholes that will strike at the heart of the exploitative cross-border companion animal trade, reaffirming the Government’s unwavering commitment to tackling cruelty in all its forms. We are grateful to our dedicated supporters who have stood beside us as we campaigned on this issue. 
Together, we have successfully achieved this milestone for animal welfare.