Four Paws (stylized FOUR PAWS) is a global

animal welfare Animal welfare is the well-being of non-human animals. Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures such as longevity ...

organisation An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is an entity—such as a company, an institution, or an association—comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose. The word is derived from ...

based in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Austria. The organisation is focusing on gradually improving the living conditions of animals under direct human influence, by revealing suffering, rescuing animals in need and protecting them.

History

Four Paws was founded on 4 March 1988 by Helmut Dungler to protect animals from being farmed for their fur. In 1989, the first charges were brought against a number of fur farms in Austria. Furthermore, the airlines AUA and

Lauda Air Lauda Air Luftfahrt GmbH, branded as Lauda Air, was an Austrian airline headquartered at Vienna International Airport in Schwechat. It was owned by Niki Lauda (1949–2019) during much of its existence, later becoming a charter airline subsidia ...

stopped the transport of captured exotic birds. In 1991 Four Paws demanded the mandatory labelling of eggs and a total ban on battery cages for egg-laying hens. In 1998, Four Paws opened the first sanctuary for bears in

Arbesbach Arbesbach is an Austrian municipality in the district of Zwettl in the Austrian state of Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, loc ...

. In 1999 the foundation brought about the closure of Austria‘s largest

battery cage Battery cages are a housing system used for various animal production methods, but primarily for egg-laying hens. The name arises from the arrangement of rows and columns of identical cages connected together, in a unit, as in an artillery batt ...

egg producer. In 2000, Dancing Bears Park Belitsa opened in

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

, and the first three former-dancing bears moved in. In 2002,

entered Germany‘s Basic Law and Federal Minister

Renate Künast Renate Elly Künast (born 15 December 1955) is a German politician of Alliance 90/The Greens party. She was the Minister of Consumer Protection, Food and Agriculture from 2001 to 2005 and subsequently served as chairwoman of her party's parliame ...

thanked Four Paws by name. In 2005, the ''Federal Animal Welfare Act'' came into force in Austria and banned both fur farming and the use of wild animals in circuses.Vier Pfoten: Spotlight on Al Ma'wa Wildlife Rescue Centre in Jordan
Eurogroupforanimals.org, August 27, 2018 In 2008, the Big Cat Sanctuary Lionsrock opened in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. Helmut Dungler was awarded the Silver Order of Merit for Services Rendered to the Republic of Austria. In 2010, Four Paws started a cooperation with the Princess Alia Foundation. In 2011, 50.000 signatures against the puppy trade were handed over to the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. At the same time, the international protest of Four Paws against a planned law to cull dogs was successful. The law was thrown out by the Romanian Supreme Court. In 2012, an EU-wide ban on conventional battery cages for hens came into force.Mondelez now uses cage free eggs in Toblerone
/ref> In 2014, the

Bear Sanctuary Prishtina The Bear Sanctuary Prishtina is a sanctuary for rescued brown bears in Kosovo 22 km close to the city of Prishtina. Background For many years, there was no law against keeping brown bears in Kosovo. All privately kept brown bears lived in small ...

was opened. In 2015, Four Paws initiated a campaign against Canned Lion Hunting which attracted 281,000 supporters. Furthermore, upon pressure from Four Paws and other animal rights organisations, Austrian organic farms stopped killing of male fledglings.'Canned hunting': the lions bred for slaughter
Theguardian.com, June 3, 2013 Furthermore, Four Paws launched a campaign focusing on the US company

eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became a ...

due to illegal pet traders. Over 200.000 supporters have signed this petition which called on eBay to introduce seller verification on all of its classified sites.Thanksebay Petition
/ref> In 2018, the organisation rescued lions and bears from "''Europe's worst zoo''" in

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

, Albania.Three lions, a bear and seven other animals rescued from "hellish" zoo
Newsweek.com, October 29, 2018 In the same year, the 1st International Animal Welfare Summit was organised by Four Paws in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Austria, with famous guests, like

Chinese art Chinese art is visual art that originated in or is practiced in China, Greater China or by Chinese artists. Art created by Chinese residing outside of China can also be considered a part of Chinese art when it is based in or draws on Chinese ...

ist

Ai Weiwei Ai Weiwei (, ; born 28 August 1957) is a Chinese contemporary artist, documentarian, and activist. Ai grew up in the far northwest of China, where he lived under harsh conditions due to his father's exile. As an activist, he has been openly c ...

.Four Paws: 300 mark 30 years of Four Paws at 1st International Animal Welfare Summit 2018
Eurogroupforanimals.org, May 2, 2018 On 17 January 2018,

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

took a step against anonymous pet trafficking on the Internet. From 1 March 2018, online traders have had to provide their full name and address, as well as the country of origin and breeding of the dogs offered for sale.Switzerland bans the anonymous online trade of dogs
Carodog.eu, January 17, 2018 On 5 January 2020 founder and president, Heli Dungler, died unexpectedly. In January 2020, Four Paws rescued sick lions at a zoo in

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...

after worldwide outrage following concerning reports of the animals' condition. On 4 September 2020, the organisation with the veterinarians

Amir Khalil Amir Khalil (born 21 November 1964 in El Fayoum) is an Egyptian veterinarian and Director of Project Development at the animal welfare organisation Four Paws International. He is most known as ''the war vet'', saving animals from disaster areas a ...

and Frank Goeritz from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW) examined and approved "the world's loneliest elephant"

Kaavan Kaavan ( ur, ; born 1985) is a male Asian elephant known as the "world's loneliest elephant" since his partner, 22-year-old Saheli, died in 2012. Kaavan was gifted by the government of Sri Lanka to Pakistan in 1985. He remained at the Islamaba ...

for travel to an elephant sanctuary. The relocation to the Cambodia Wildlife Sanctuary at the end of November 2020 was supported by singer

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

's NGO Free The Wild and by businessman Eric Margolis. In January 2021, Four Paws published the Austrian edition of the

Meat Atlas ''Meat Atlas'' () is an annual report, published by the Heinrich Böll Foundation and Friends of the Earth Europe, on the methods and impact of industrial animal agriculture and the meat industry.Damien McGuinness"'Meat Atlas' charts a changing w ...

in cooperation with the

Heinrich Böll Foundation The Heinrich Böll Foundation (german: Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung e.V., HBS) is a German, legally independent political foundation. Affiliated with the German Green Party, it was founded in 1997 when three predecessors merged. The foundation was n ...

and the environmental protection organization Global 2000. In March 2022, four tigers were rescued from Argentina to find a new home in South Africa. It was the organization's first rescue in South America.4 Circus Tigers Sent to Animal Sanctuary After Spending 15 Years in a Cage
Newsweek.com March 18, 2022

Controversy

Claims by Four Paws in ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' on 16 April 2020 stated there had been a surge in dog and cat meat eating in Vietnam as a result of

fake news Fake news is false or misleading information presented as news. Fake news often has the aim of damaging the reputation of a person or entity, or making money through advertising revenue.Schlesinger, Robert (April 14, 2017)"Fake news in reality ...

suggesting it would cure

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Four Paws' head of stray animal care in Asia, Katherine Polak, was quoted saying she strongly suspected doctors were now recommending cat and dog meat to treat COVID-19. However, on 24 April 2020, fact checking non profit

PolitiFact PolitiFact.com is an American nonprofit project operated by the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida, with offices there and in Washington, D.C. It began in 2007 as a project of the ''Tampa Bay Times'' (then the ''St. Petersburg Times'' ...

rated the claim as false. Politico, White House reporter Tina Nguyen called it mind boggling and a nasty racist attack. In May 2020, Four Paws responded with an official statement defending their claims.

Objectives

The organisation is positioned as "a strong, global, and independent voice for animals under direct human control" by offering sustainable solutions for animals in need, changing consumer behaviour, driving legal change and building partnerships. The purpose of Four Paws is to inform the general public about animal rights and to bring

pet A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive appearances, intelligence, ...

s and

wild animals Wildlife refers to undomesticated animal species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous to game: those birds and mammals that were hunted fo ...

in captivity. The organisation also supports a ban on farming animals for fur in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, strict limitations on keeping wild animals in private captivity and a ban on wild animals in circuses.

Topics

Four Paws measures include the following topics. * Bears: Four Paws rescues bears forced to live in poor conditions in circuses, zoos or in private hands. The organisation has projects in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

,FOUR PAWS ends bile bear keeping in Ninh Binh province
Tinmoitruong.vn, April 27, 2018

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

,Bärenwald Arbesbach
Digitaljournal.com, Waldviertel.at, retrieved August 1, 2019

,Saddest Bear in Europe Meets Love of His Life at Bulgaria Bear Park
Insideedition.com, retrieved August 1, 2019

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

,'Four Paws International' at the zoo in Poznan
Epa.eu, retrieved August 1, 2019

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

,Four Paws: Pet food maker Royal Canin sponsoring bear-baiting
Digitaljournal.com, retrieved July 23, 2013 and

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

.Kosovo moves against restaurants holding wild bears
Reuters.com, retrieved August 1, 2019 Wikipedia_INT-b%C3%A4ren_2016-03-16

* Big Cats: Four Paws establishes sanctuaries and projects for big cats in

,From king of the jungle to traded skeleton
Four-paws.org, August 8, 2018

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

,Enforcement of European Animal Welfare related legislation
/ref>

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

,Mosul Zoo's only surviving animals are rescued from war-torn Iraqi city
Independent.co.uk, April 11, 2017 Gaza,Caught In In The Crossfire: Traumatized Zoo Animals Face Crisis In Gaza
Thedodo.com, September 15, 2014Animals Rescued From the 'Worst Zoo in the World' in Gaza
Theatlantic.com, August 25, 201647 Zoo Animals Escape War-Torn Gaza Strip
Apnews.com, April 8, 2019

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Felida Big Cat Centre
retrieved 13. April 2019 in Felidabigcats.org or in

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

.Gruesome discovery of Czech tiger farm exposes illegal trade in heart of Europe
Theguardian.com, November 19, 2018 The organisation also cooperates with partners like the National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA).Captive lions rescued from horrific conditions on North West farm
13. April 2019 in Iol.co.za * Stray Animals: Four Paws establishes solutions to prevent outbreaks of disease and uncontrolled levels of reproduction among strays in regions like in

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

,Captive lions rescued from horrific conditions on North West farm
retrieved 1. August 2019 in Mmtimes.com

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

,Four Paws Saves Mutilated Romanian Dog
Huffingtonpost.co.uk, December 7, 2013

Help for forgotten dogs of Chernobyl
Vettimes.co.uk, August 22, 2017 and

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

In addition, the organization is working to sustainably end the dog and cat meat trade. * Horses: The organisation protects Europe's last populations of horses living in the wild

Danube Delta The Danube Delta ( ro, Delta Dunării, ; uk, Дельта Дунаю, Deľta Dunaju, ) is the second largest river delta in Europe, after the Volga Delta, and is the best preserved on the continent. The greater part of the Danube Delta lies in Ro ...

Watch what happens next when a kind vet rescues a shackled horse...
Express.co.uk, March 3, 2016 and in the ancient city of

Petra Petra ( ar, ٱلْبَتْرَاء, Al-Batrāʾ; grc, Πέτρα, "Rock", Nabataean Aramaic, Nabataean: ), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu or Raqēmō, is an historic and archaeological city in southern Jordan. It is adjacent to t ...

. * Orangutans: Four Paws looks after orphaned orangutans and prepares them to live independently in the wild.Watch these orphaned orangutans learn the ropes at forest school
Treehugger.com, August 20, 2018 Furthermore, the organisation funded a

forest school Forest School or Forrest School may refer to: Educational philosophy * Forest school (learning style), a learner centred outdoor learning approach. Religious philosophy * Thai Forest Tradition, a Theravada school of Buddhism in Thailand. * Sri La ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

East Kalimantan East Kalimantan (Indonesian: ) is a province of Indonesia. Its territory comprises the eastern portion of Borneo. It had a population of about 3.03 million at the 2010 census (within the current boundary), 3.42 million at the 2015 census, and 3. ...

.Orangutan forest school in Indonesia takes on its first eight students
News.mongabay.com, June 21, 2018 * Fur Farming: Four Paws supports a ban on keeping animals for fur, a legal obligation to label all fur products and, in the long term, a

-wide ban on importing and retailing all furs and fur products.Down smackdown: The North Face v Patagonia on ethical feather standards
Theguardian.com, August 22, 2014
Independent.co.uk, October 19, 2014 In August 2018, Four Paws has joined the ''Fur Free Alliance (FFA)'' to launch a new campaign urging fashion brand

Prada Prada S.p.A. (, ; ) is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1913 in Milan by Mario Prada. It specializes in leather handbags, travel accessories, shoes, ready-to-wear, and other fashion accessories. Prada licenses its name and branding t ...

to adopt a fur-free policy like

Gucci Gucci (, ; ) is an Italian high-end luxury fashion house based in Florence, Italy. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and home decoration; and it licenses its name and branding to Coty, Inc. for fragrance ...

Versace Gianni Versace S.r.l. (), usually referred to as Versace ( ), is an Italian luxury fashion company founded by Gianni Versace in 1978 known for flashy prints and bright colors. The company produces Italian-made ready-to-wear and accessories, as w ...

Armani Giorgio Armani S.p.A. (), commonly known as Armani, is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in Milan by Giorgio Armani which designs, manufactures, distributes and retails haute couture, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, accessories, and ...

Donna Karan Donna Karan (, born Donna Ivy Faske), also known as "DK", is an American fashion designer and the creator of the Donna Karan New York and DKNY clothing labels. Early life Karan was born Donna Ivy Faske to mother Helen "Queenie" Faske (née Rabin ...

and

Hugo Boss Hugo Boss AG, often styled as BOSS, is a luxury fashion house headquartered in Metzingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The company sells clothing, accessories, footwear, and fragrances. Hugo Boss is one of the largest German clothing companies, ...

.Prada backlash spreads to Australia
Ragtrader.com.au, September 25, 2018 In February 2021, the organization published a statement on the assessment conducted by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the

World Health Organisation The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

(WHO) on

SARS-CoV-2 Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) is a strain of coronavirus that causes COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), the respiratory illness responsible for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The virus previously had a ...

in animals used for fur farming shows high risks for public health. * Assistance for animals in distress: The organisation rescues animals after

natural disaster A natural disaster is "the negative impact following an actual occurrence of natural hazard in the event that it significantly harms a community". A natural disaster can cause loss of life or damage property, and typically leaves some econ ...

s and helps local people whose livelihood depends upon the animals.Rescuers arrive in Lombok to help animals after devastating earthquakes
Dogsmonthly.co.uk, August 24, 2018 *

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

: The organisation urges the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

to call for stricter EU regulation on the trade in live wild animals, a clear commitment to step up efforts to combat the illegal wildlife trade as well as EU and Member States' financial support to wildlife rescue centres and sanctuaries. Moreover, the organization criticizes the EU-Council's decision on the signing of the

Mercosur The Southern Common Market, commonly known by Spanish abbreviation Mercosur, and Portuguese Mercosul, is a South American trade bloc established by the Treaty of Asunción in 1991 and Protocol of Ouro Preto in 1994. Its full members are Argentina ...

agreement between the EU and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

concerning ''high quality beef''.''Trade policy review including WTO reform initiative''
from 14. July 2020 in Ec.europa.eu

References

External links