Animals Matter to Africa
WORLD ANIMAL DAY 2015 : ANIMALS MATTER TO AFRICA
Following the successful launch of the Animals Matter to Africa (AMTA) project on 4 October 2014 (designed to build political support and awareness for animal welfare across Africa), we again observed World Animal Day to celebrate all species of animals, and to lobby for change.
At Parliament, leaders from various local organisations read out quotes from our ‘ancestors in animal welfare’, giving us an opportunity to reflect on the great men and women who walked ‘our’ path before us. It bought home the jarring realisation that we can no longer be idle. Too many years have passed since they raised their distinguished voices for our animals. Years during which the abuse, institutionlised cruelty and killing, and the exploitation of our fellow sentient beings have become intolerable. We need to garner the support of every single animal lover across our continent, and act with power – the power of the people – to bring about change.
Kate Normington, AMTA’s first celebrity Ambassador, addressed the crowd and called on all Africans to unite on the AMTA platform. Everybody can make a difference she said, no matter how insignificant a contribution may seem – every effort counts and every deed and word spoken on behalf our animals vitally important. Her moving rendition of ‘For Good’ touched all deeply, and our spirits soared with the knowledge that we have such a powerful and influential voice for our animals going forward.
To close off proceedings at Parliament, Tozie Zokufa, Chairman of the Pan African Animal Welfare Alliance (PAAWA), and World Animal Day Ambassador : Africa, handed over our memorandum, our urgent call for reform, to the Honourable Zelda Jongbloed (Deputy Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries).
Marching back, we chanted ‘Animals Matter’ louder than ever, knowing that we were heard, and that we achieved exponential growth – a myriad of ‘new’ organisations joined us since 2014, carrying their unique messages for our animals, and awareness was raised like never before.
We cannot wait for every City, town and village across our beautiful continent to join us on World Animal Day this year – united for change – united for no reason other than … Animals Matter!
Watch our video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qNZBBG6q70&feature=youtu.be
Nikki Elliott
World Animal Day Ambassador : SA
- Contact Name: Nikki Elliott
- Contact Email: lionmarch-ct@cybersmart.co.za
- Location: Cape Town
- Organised by: Nikki Elliott