! Big Hearts Foundation ANNUAL REPORT 2015-2016
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Big Hearts Foundation ANNUAL REPORT 2015-2016 Charity Commission registration 1145269 WHAT WE DO......................................................................................................................... 3 COMPANION AND STRAY ANIMALS ......................................................................................4 Improving regional practices and legislation .......................................................................4 Sharing our knowledge ........................................................................................................5 Spay and neuter projects .....................................................................................................6 Crowdfunding for animals ...................................................................................................8 Veterinary training ..............................................................................................................9 Rehoming efforts ...............................................................................................................10 Rescue “tails” .....................................................................................................................11 WILD ANIMALS ....................................................................................................................13 Making orphan bear cubs wild again ..................................................................................13 Volunteering at Utyos .........................................................................................................16 Utyos Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre - the “bear” necessities .............................................17 CAPTIVE WILD ANIMALS ....................................................................................................18 Hilda Tresz visit to Rostov Zoo ...........................................................................................19 Improvements at the Voronezh zoo ....................................................................................21 Captive wild animals: success stories .................................................................................22 HUMANE EDUCATION .........................................................................................................25 Kindness Lessons and Humane Education course for teachers ..........................................25 RAISING AWARENESS AND SUPPORT FOR VOLUNTEERS .................................................26 Social advertising ..............................................................................................................26 Event participation ............................................................................................................27 Brochure for Responsible Pet Owners ...............................................................................28 LOBBYING FEREDAL LEGISLATION ...................................................................................29 Violinist Vanessa Mae on the polar bear cruelty case in Russia.......................................... 29 Campaign against animal testing ........................................................................................31 FINANCIALS .........................................................................................................................32 Comments on reserves and funding sources ......................................................................32 Expenses breakdown .........................................................................................................32 GOVERNANCE IN PLACE .....................................................................................................35 FUTURE GOALS ....................................................................................................................35 Raising awareness .............................................................................................................35 Companion animals ...........................................................................................................35 Humane Education ............................................................................................................36 Wildlife Rehabilitation - Utyos Wildlife Centre ..................................................................36 Captive animal welfare ......................................................................................................36 TEAM AND STRUCTURE ......................................................................................................36 OUR PARTNERS ...................................................................................................................37 www.bigheartsfoundation.org Big Hearts Foundation Annual Report 2015-2016 !2 ! WHAT WE DO OUR VISION “ To transform the society in Russia and former Soviet countries into one where animal welfare is understood, respected by everyone and protected by effective legislation.“ In 2011 Big Hearts Foundation was the first international charity to start helping companion animals in various regions of Russia, apart from the two main cities Moscow and Saint Petersburg. Today, the results of our work improve the lives of animals in 35 cities across Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Moldova and counting. In our 5 year history we have come a long way and extended our reach to help wild animals, as well. Russia is the largest country in the world and is in dire need to improve the plight of animals. After the fall of communism the area of human-animal interaction has been left unattended. The situation is critical and animal suffering is rife. We aim to change this by bringing the Western expertise and decades-long experience in animal welfare to Russia and surrounding countries. OUR PROGRAMMES: ➢ Raising Awareness. Raising awareness of animal welfare, its importance, problems related to that and the most effective and humane solutions; promoting responsible pet ownership in order to stop animals from being abused and abandoned; improving the work of animal shelters and volunteer groups, rescuing and helping animals on a daily basis. ➢ Subsidized Neutering. Providing affordable spaying and neutering for pets of low- income households and fostered homeless animals, awaiting to be adopted. ➢ Humane Education. Fostering a more compassionate and responsible generation through implementation of Humane Education at schools in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine with plans to expand to other former Soviet countries in the nearest future. ➢ Effective Legislation. Writing and promoting effective animal welfare law proposals and lobbying the federal government for urgent reform in the animal-related legislation. ➢ Wild Animals. Supporting the work of a unique Wildlife Rehabilitation center, that rehabilitates orphaned bear cubs, whose mothers were shot by hunters or illegal poachers and releases them back into the wild. ➢ Captive Wild Animals. Improving the plight of and rescuing, where possible, wild animals in captivity, such as zoo residents, wild animals in private ownership, circus animals etc. Our Founder and Trustees do not receive any financial benefits from the charity’s activities. Instead, they invest their time, energy and money in improving the plight of companion, stray and wild animals, that need our help. Our overheads and employee costs are kept to respectable 26% of our income, with a vast part of the overheads being covered by the Founder. This means that every pound sterling, dollar and ruble that is donated to us is spent directly on saving thousands of animals from cruel and painful death. www.bigheartsfoundation.org Big Hearts Foundation Annual Report 2015-2016 !3 ! COMPANION AND STRAY ANIMALS IMPROVING REGIONAL PRACTICES AND LEGISLATION Russia is the world’s largest country with different regions and cities having often radically different approaches to the issue of stray animals. Some of the regions have already adapted some good practices, while in most of the country the problem of stray animals is still being “solved” by plain killing of cats and dogs on the streets, often in front of local people, and even children, using inhumane methods. Until 2015, no competent animal welfare organisation had ever tried to prepare an in-depth review and analysis of different practices, both good and bad, and to produce a comprehensive report, containing recommendations for variety of environments, from large metropolitan cities to smaller towns and villages. This is precisely what a biologist and shelter director Vladimir Rybalko, a data expert Nikita Danilov and a lawyer Anastasia Komagina of Big Hearts Foundation have been focusing on this past year. They have been speaking to the government officials, veterinary doctors, municipal veterinary stations and local stray animal management departments in the majority of regions of Russia, collecting and analyzing precious data. This first part of the research should be soon completed and will allow us to actively propose and lobby for effective stray animal practices and comprehensive approaches across Russia. We will also use this to lobby the federal government to enact legislation, that will make it easier for the regional governments to implement humane and effective stray management policies. These and many other issues require a lot of work and expertise and often involve the delicate task of convincing the local administration regarding the cost effectiveness and necessity to implement