How veterinarians can support animal welfare through the Animal Welfare Trust

Improving animal welfare is important to all veterinarians. The Animal Welfare Trust is an excellent example of the Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) ensuring the veterinary profession achieves this goal.  

Veterinarians established the Animal Welfare Trust with an initial contribution from the Australian Federation for the Welfare of Animals and funding from members of the AVA. The Trust now relies on donations from veterinarians and members of the public. 

The Trust is administered by voluntary trustees appointed by the AVA Board, each a veterinarian with expertise in, and active commitment to, the welfare of all animals.  

The Trust is an excellent example of the AVA’s advocacy for animal welfare in action and supports research that has the potential to have a positive impact on animal welfare. Each year the Trust receives 8-10 applications for the $10,000 grant and a project is selected that is deemed to comply with the Trust’s vision, is well designed and will lead to improvements in animal welfare. The Trust’s research grants are suitable for small one-year projects such as assisting postgraduate students working towards veterinary Honours, Masters or PhD degrees. The trustees may invite the successful grant recipient to give a presentation at an AVA Conference.  

The Trust cannot function without ongoing donations and more funds would enable the Trust to expand its program to support more projects. AVA members can help in a number of ways by making the voluntary contribution when renewing their membership, making a donation or bequest and advertising the work of the Trust by having Animal Welfare Trust leaflets in their waiting rooms and on their websites.  

One way of promoting the Trust is for practitioners to include Animal Welfare Trust leaflets in condolence cards and noting that a donation has been made to the Trust in remembrance of their deceased pet. Pet owners appreciate this and it’s a great way to advertise the Trust and hopefully increase donations from the public.  

Dr Tanya Stephens, chair of the AVA Animal Welfare Trust says, “I’ve been doing this for some years now and I have found my clients are most appreciative and sometimes this inspires them to make their own donation. They particularly like the fact that the profession is concerned with animal welfare.” 

She says “I really enjoy practice and being part of the local community, and appreciate the presents of flowers, chocolates and wine and lovely cards from clients. I sometimes wonder if they think we are malnourished alcoholics! These wonderful gifts more often follow euthanasia or death of a pet than lifesaving surgery and clients are especially appreciative of the practice donation to the Animal Welfare Trust which can serve to make their loss more bearable.” 

We encourage all AVA members to support the Animal Welfare Trust which demonstrates that the AVA is serious about animal welfare in a very practical way. If you are interested in applying for the grant, the announcement around the application process and closing dates will be made soon.

Animal Welfare Trust leaflets can be downloaded via this page, or alternatively contact Ursula Gleeson.