World Animal Day: Created by a writer, honoring the animals’ patron saint
World Animal Day is celebrated by many welfare and rescue organizations around the globe.
by Katerina Lorenzatos Makris ~
Who founded World Animal Day? A writer!
Every year on October 4, animal welfare groups and supporters around the globe celebrate World Animal Day by organizing special events and programs to further their missions with outreach, education, and fundraising.
This year we’ve been wondering… When was the first World Animal Day, and who came up with the idea?
Much to our delight, we discovered that the tradition is more than nine decades old, and it all began with a fellow scribe.
Animal advocate and writer
According to a background note on WorldAnimalDay.org, the event’s creation stretches back to 1925 in Berlin, Germany, and to the busy brain of writer, publisher, and animal activist Heinrich Zimmerman.
Through his bimonthly magazine Mensch und Hund or Man and Dog, Zimmerman advocated for animal welfare. He also published two books—Lexicon for Friends of Dogs, and Animal Brother—in between his work as a key organizer of the movement to prevent cruelty to animals.
Honoring St. Francis
Many recognize St. Francis of Assisi as an ecology pioneer and compassionate friend to animals.
October 4 was chosen as the annual date for World Animal Day because it is the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, who many recognize for his great compassion as an early environmentalist and animal protector.
In a sweet and fitting historical parallel, after Zimmerman lobbied for years to have World Animal Day accepted as a global event, the day was officially adopted in 1931 by a resolution of the International Animal Protection Congress in Florence, Italy, which is just a short drive from Assisi, the birthplace of St. Francis.
What can you do?
What can you do to help critters not just on World Animal Day, but every day? Check out the numerous events, activities and suggestions listed at the links below.
Zimmerman would probably have been astonished and ecstatic to know how big his cherished idea to commemorate a special day for the animals would eventually become, making his hard work and dedication all worthwhile.
One can imagine that his predecessor St. Francis of Assisi might be pretty pleased too.
FIND SOME ANIMAL ADVOCACY AND VOLUNTEERING ACTIVITIES AT THE FOLLOWING LINKS:
The celebration includes all species of animals and countless events and activities.
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Katerina Lorenzatos Makris is a career journalist, author, and editor. Her fiction includes 17 novels for Simon and Schuster, E.P. Dutton, Avon, and other major publishers (under the name Kathryn Makris), as well as a teleplay for CBS-TV, and a short story for The Bark magazine. She has written hundreds of articles for regional wire services and for outlets such as National Geographic Traveler, The San Francisco Chronicle, Travelers’ Tales, NBC’s Petside.com, Animal Issues Reporter.com, and Examiner.com (Animal Policy Examiner).
Together with coauthor Shelley Frost, Katerina wrote a step-by-step guide for hands-on, in-the-trenches dog rescue, Your Adopted Dog: Everything You Need to Know About Rescuing and Caring for a Best Friend in Need (The Lyons Press).