World Animal Day is an annually celebrated International day for realizing animal rights and promoting the activities of their welfare.
On October 4, it is observed on the feast day of the Patron Saint of animals, Francis of Assisi.
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Date of World Animal Day Observance
4th of October.
History of the World Animal Day
Initially, in 1908, the animal day has been observed in Argentina on 2 April but later when I'll be written died in 1926 the day shifted to concerned with this day on 29 April. Earlier it was led by Ignacio Lucas Albarracin, the president of the Animal Protection Association (Buenos Aires) and the director of the Zoological Garden.
The first world animal day was celebrated and observed at the Sports Palace in Berlin Germany on 24 March 1925.
This first event was originated by Heinrich Zimmerman, a cynologist, and was marked by more than 5000 people.
Originally, the event was scheduled and planned for celebrating the event on feast day of the patron Saint of the environment and animals, which is on October 4. The unavailability of the venue moved the event from 4 October to 24 March.
The first event was aligned on the 4th of October, which had taken place in 1929.
However, this was just the beginning which was followed only in Switzerland, Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Austria. It was here to take the form of a global event for which Zimmermann worked tirelessly every year.
Finally, his efforts turned into success in May 1931. The International Animal Protection Congress unanimously adopted and accepted his proposal of considering 4 October as World Animal Day at a universal level.
World Animal Day Celebration
On World Animal Day, the global event and the animal protection movement is sponsored and led by the Naturewatch Foundation, an animal welfare charity in the UK.
RSPCA organizes celebratory events previously in Australia. Finnish Association of animal protection associations has been organizing various events and distributing awareness material in schools during the animal week since 2002.
Significance: Why World Animal Day is Celebrated?
World animal day aims to raise animal welfare standards and there is status around the world.
World Animal Day wonderfully integrates different countries for the animal welfare movement in order to make this world a better place for the animals.
The day mobilizes the Welfare activities into a global force to increase education and awareness about a relationship with the animals.
This is an amazing drive that is supported irrespective of religion, faith, nationality, or political ideology.
It is celebrated in different ways around every nation to recognize the animals as sentient beings who deserve full regard and harmony.
The Man behind Celebrating the World Animal Day
Saint Francis of Assisi, who is also known as Francesco in his ministry, was an Italian philosopher, preacher, Catholic friar, and one of the most revered religious figures and legends of the Christian community.
Initially, he was designated as the Italian patron Saint but later he emerged as the patronage of animals.
From his time it became a popular practice in churches to throw customary blessing ceremonies for the animals near or on his feast day which was held on October 4. People visit the churches along with their pets or other animals for blessings.
Facts about the World Animal Day
The world animal day is often cited to begin in 1931 at the formal assembly of ecologists in Florence in Florence Italy, which is incorrect. That convention was to draw attention to the difficult and unpleasant situation of the endangered species.
