FOUR PAWS is dedicated to empowering local communities to address stray animal welfare issues in a humane and sustainable way.

Recognising the challenges posed by people abandoning their animals on the streets and growing stray animal populations, FOUR PAWS launched its community engagement programme in 2017. This programme plays a vital role in fulfilling FOUR PAWS' mission to create a better world for all animals. By actively engaging with communities, and offering resources, training, and support, FOUR PAWS enables local communities to take ownership of humanely resolving stray animal population issues and achieving long-term positive outcomes.

Community engagement is the process of building and maintaining key stakeholder community relationships that can drive meaningful change. Our approach involves collaborating with municipalities, community leaders, animal welfare organisations, veterinarians, and other community stakeholders to create a network of passionate individuals committed to animal welfare. We work hard to identify and address the communities’ needs and concerns regarding the local stray animal population, to ensure that everyone has a voice in developing effective solutions. This can take many different forms, from hosting public workshops and meetings to conducting surveys and focus groups. Ultimately, the goal of community engagement is to foster a sense of trust, understanding, and shared ownership among all stakeholders, and to create long-lasting positive change in the community for stray animals.

Community engagement is incredibly important because it promotes awareness, collaboration, compassion, and the implementation of sustainable solutions. By involving the community, we can work together towards creating a society where stray animals are treated with respect, empathy and understanding. Community engagement helps to build stronger, more cohesive communities by promoting public health, social inclusion, increasing civic participation, and improving the overall quality of life for everyone in the community.

FOUR PAWS prioritises community engagement as a crucial approach for its animal welfare work. Through workshops and training programmes, we actively involve communities in coming up with solutions to address stray animal welfare in a humane way, not only looking at how to address the symptoms but also the causes of dogs and cats being made homeless. Additionally, we support local animal welfare groups initiatives while collaborating with governments, businesses, and NGOs to develop sustainable stray animal population management programmes and policies. By fostering awareness and encouraging positive attitudes towards stray animals, our aim is to create a lasting impact on animal welfare.

Find out more about our Community Engagement work in: 

• Bulgaria
• Romania
• Ukraine