Sustainable Development

The Society for Animals in Distress Equine Support Unit (ESU) in the case of working animals (e.g. Horses and Donkeys), improved welfare contributes to increasing transport and carrying capacity, so promoting income.

The Equine Support Unit in the case of draft animals contributes to increasing agricultural production.

AHT Mentorship Programme Target: to by 2030, substantially increase the number of youths with relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs, and micro-enterprise for animal health.

17 para veterinary professionals completed mentorships and employed to date.

The Society for Animals in Distress role is as an education resource to sustainable communities, benefitting South African communities at large.

The School Humane Education Programme, educating children about animals can improve empathy and reduce interpersonal violence.

Children in the changing demographics of South Africa are the next generation of consumers (Embracing Generation Z) who can create a market for enhanced animal welfare services and products.

Our actions make a direct contribution to protecting the livelihoods of thousands of poor families by limiting losses from animal diseases.

AHT Mentorship Programme builds veterinary Agricultural livelihoods in service of local communities.

Animal welfare incentives can improve employee job satisfaction i.e. CSI Project and Employee volunteering programmes Working with animals or having pets at the workplace can enhance the working environment.

Preventing suffering Redefining productivity, AHT’s recognise culture, know the dialect, understand needs to build trust and to ensure relevance for the sustainability of animal ownership inside the community.

Demonstrate a force-free community engagement model to show a more humane way to accomplish progress.

Intentional cruelty to animals is not the norm, often people do not have what is needed to correctly care for their animals.

AHT’s offer culturally relevant education – guidance about food, shelter, and best practice for improving the lives of animals.

Engage children that are often caretakers of animals and will become agents of change and role models of responsible, caring dog or cat owners in their communities.

Real-life solutions for communities that would otherwise not have them.

Sharing of veterinary services can reduce inequalities in animal disease control.

Outreach Vaccination and Sterilisation Programmes prevent cases of disease in animals transmittable to people and protect livelihoods.

The health of our planet also plays an important role in the emergence of zoonotic diseases, that are transmissible between animals and humans.

As humans in ever-greater contact with animals, enabling pathogens in domestic animals can spill over to livestock and humans, increasing the risk of disease emergence and amplification.

Companion animals (cats and dogs) in impoverished communities align with their dual societal roles as companions and pest controllers.

Responsible ownership of animals (farm and pets) in communities can reduce the incidence of detrimental interactions with wildlife.

The Society’s governance of veterinary services together with competent authorities can guide good animal welfare.

Building collaborations for Outreaches among non-profits in South Africa to enable synergies and maximise resource impact for animal welfare.

Shared services and shared learning act as an effective enabler for our partnerships.

Partnerships with businesses can be effective nationally in supporting initiatives to improve animal welfare.