Below is a list of organizations that offer positions for volunteers. If you plan on volunteering abroad, please take the time to thoroughly research your chosen organization, as issues of misrepresentation can arise. Please insure that the animal care standards at your chosen organization align with your personal ethical standards. 

Please feel free to submit additional links for consideration.

Below is a list of not-for-profit and for profit organizations that specialize in Eco-Tourism. Please feel free to submit additional links for consideration. 

World Animal Net receives many requests about job openings in the animal protection movement. Our advice to those seeking employment or voluntary work is to research the various animal protection organizations and decide which would best suit your philosophical position, talents and capabilities. Of course, the location of the organization is also a prime concern! The WAN Directory is a good starting point for research (particularly if you follow links to the websites of different organizations). You can search the WAN Directory geographically or by activity. In addition, we provide a selection of specific job links below.

World Animal Net receives many requests about job openings in the animal protection movement. Our advice to those seeking employment or voluntary work, is to research the various animal protection organisations and decide which would best suit your philosophical position, talents and capabilities. Of course, the location of the organisation is also a prime concern! The WAN Directory is a good starting point for research (particularly if you follow links to the Web sites of different organisations). You can search the WAN Directory geograhically or by activity. In addition, we provide a selection of specific Job links below.

Job Links:

AAP Rescue Centre (English)
American Humane Association - Job Opportunities
Animal Jobs Direct
AnimalJobs.com
Animal Sheltering.org - Jobs
Animal Work.org
Brooke - Job vacancies
Charity Job UK - Animal Jobs
Farm Sanctuary - Jobs
Humane Society of the United States - Employment Opportunities
Humane Society University Career Center
International Fund for Animal Welfare - Employment
Jungle Friends - Florida
Massachusetts S.P.C.A. - Work for Animals
PETA - Jobs
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine - PCRM Career Oportunities
Royal S.P.C.A. - United Kingdom - Careers
Society of Animal Welfare Administrators - Career Center
World Society for the Protection of Animals USA - Jobs
World Wildlife Fund - Jobs
European Enforcement Network of Animal Welfare Lawyers and Commissioners 

Animal Legal Defense Fund

World Animal Net has no job vacancies for individuals at present. We tend to work with experts in the animal protection field who are employed by other organisations and/or with specialist consultants.

The Crete Animal Welfare Group (CAWG) started as an animal shelter, but this soon filled up - as rehoming potential in Crete is limited (sadly, most Greeks prefer pedigree dogs - designer accessories!). The new activities of CAWG include education and advocacy, as well as selected projects that have the potential to make a sustainable impact.

CAWG already undertakes a number of really useful practical projects, including:

Donkey outreach to improve the welfare of working equines in remote areas of the island by providing the local and usually elderly owners with a service essential to their livelihood. This includes visits with veterinarians and farriers to rural areas to provide treatments, humane bridles, and education.

Subsidised neutering project to prevent the problem of stray dogs and unwanted puppies at the source. CAWG offers 50% of the cost for neutering and free micro chipping to dog owners on the island of Crete. WSPA is providing all the support and advice needed for this project.

Cat cafés aimed to humanely stabilize the stray cat population and provide veterinary treatment for those in need of it. Cafés are designated feeding areas on hotel and business grounds for stray cats. This project ensures higher welfare standards while providing a service to the community and the business. The scheme aims to keep everyone happy - guests/customers who like cats, guests who dislike cats, and, of course the owner.

CAWG has also started carrying out campaigns, amongst others against circuses with animals and battery eggs. The latter was started recently. The former has already met with some success (councils not allowing circuses onto their land). They also carry out some educational work in local schools and are planning to extend this work.

Please visit the Crete Animal Welfare Group Web site for more info.

The Illegal wildlife trade and smuggling of protected wildlife is widespread in Indonesia and it has become an enormous threat to the survival of a huge number of wildlife species.

More than 95% of the traded animals are caught from the wild instead of captive-bred with the result that 183 mammal, 115 bird, 27 reptile, and 111 fish species are threatened in Indonesia (IUCN, 2008).

ProFauna, one of Indonesia's leading wildlife protection organizations, approached World Animal Net with a proposal to conduct a survey that would provide ProFauna with the necessary data to pressure law enforcement agencies to enforce existing laws and the government to enact better policies to curb the illegal trade of wild animals in Indonesia.

The hub of wildlife trade takes place in the "bird" markets on Java. One of the major reasons of the high level of trade of protected wildlife at the "bird" markets is the lack of law enforcement. Almost every big city on Java has a" bird" market where illegal trade of wildlife is conducted. These "bird" markets not only sell birds but all sorts of wildlife and domestic animals. ProFauna collected data on species, numbers of trade animals, numbers of shops/vendors as well as the origin of the traded animals.

Through the support of World Animal Net, ProFauna was able to conduct this research in 70 "bird" markets on Java. ProFauna recorded that there were 183 animals of 25 species traded openly in the markets. 14 of the 70 markets sold parrots, 21 markets sold primates, 11 markets sold mammals, 13 markets sold raptors, and 11 markets sold protected song birds (non parrot). The protected songbirds included black-winged starling (Sturnus melanopterus) and olive-backed sunbird (Nectarinia jugularis).

These important findings by ProFauna on the trade of the protected species at the "bird" markets are currently being used to encourage the government to curb the trade. Law enforcement has been proven to be effective in tackling the illegal trade in some regions in Indonesia and this data will help in pressuring them to act.

Read the full report and list of species.

More on the illegal wildlife trade in Indonesia.

Below are selected important and authoritative documents useful for promoting the protection of animals. 

• The Treaty of Lisbon
  
  
• Livestock's Long Shadow
  
  
• The Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness

The following documents provide background information on the many different animal welfare issues. They can be used as a starting point for building your knowledge and doing your research.

Animal Welfare Glossary - Compiled by VIER PFOTEN / FOUR PAWS INTERNATIONAL