Animal Day: Animal Love and Animal Feed
Sunday 4 October Animal Day
Animal protectors thought it was high time in 1929 that a day came to reflect on animal welfare. At the time they declared 4 October Animal Day, because this was the death of Francis of Assisi . He cared about the fate of poor people and lepers, but also of nature and animals. In 1930 it was the first official Animal Day on October 4.
Animal Day in the animal shelters.
115 years ago, a club of female animal lovers founded the first animal shelter in Utrecht: the Stichts Asyl voor Dieren. Maarten, big cat lover, visits the building on the Koningsweg around animal day and looks for the differences between then and now. The biggest deal? Both then and now, the shelter is run by animal lovers. The biggest difference? The way we deal with animals that don't get a new owner.
On World Animal Day, people promote animal rights
In the early years, many thoughtful texts were published on this day about the relationship between man and animal. Since the 1960s, the moment has been more used to promote animal rights.
When Animal Day was introduced, the phenomenon 'theme day' was still new. Animal Day joined the short list of themed days such as Labour Day (1890), Women's Day (1910), Mother's Day (ca. 1914) and Tree Planting Day (1919). Instead of spoiling the live animals, some prefer to commemorate their deceased pet on World Animal Day.
Sunday 4 October 2020 Other Times Special: #Dierenliefde and #Animal distress
