Working horses, ponies and donkeys around the world will be helped this year, thanks to the readers of Horse & Hound.
We invited readers to submit suggestions for our charity for our 130th birthday year and SPANA — which supports working animals abroad — was voted the winner.
“On behalf of all of the team and the hundreds of thousands of working animals we help every year, I’d like to say how honoured we are that SPANA has been chosen as charity of the year,” said the charity’s chief executive Jeremy Hulme.
“We’d like to thank everyone who voted for us. We’re especially looking forward to showing H&H some of our projects in Africa, where we’re helping to improve the lives of horses, donkeys and mules that work tirelessly for some of the world’s poorest people.
“The money raised from being selected as H&H’s charity of the year will go a long way in helping us provide free veterinary treatment for sick and injured animals.”
SPANA will receive a lump sum from H&H, as well as a number of opportunities to work with us during the next 12 months.
The lump sum will be raised by H&H readers through a new charity donation option on our online classified section, which the magazine will match.
H&H Editor Lucy Higginson said: “We have been proud to support charities like this that do so much for so many working equines around the world. We know better than most that these are challenging times for all charities and fundraising, so we are delighted to be helping SPANA through our special birthday year.”
About SPANA
SPANA (the Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad) was set up in 1923 by British mother and daughter Kate and Nina Hosali, who travelled to north Africa.
They were shocked by the mistreatment and poor welfare standards working horses, donkeys and mules endured, and campaigned tirelessly to set up SPANA on their return.
SPANA runs long-term veterinary and education programmes in Morocco, Tunisia, Jordan, Mali, Mauritania, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia, providing free treatment for sick and injured working animals.
SPANA in numbers in 2013
222,000
treatments to working animals, including horses, donkeys and mules
35,835
wounds and sores treated
3,037
new bits distributed as part of its bit exchange scheme
62,267
children taught about animal welfare
474,250
animals fed and watered through its emergency and partnership programmes
