World Animal Day 2023: Theme, Celebration, Significance and History

October 4 is celebrated as World Animal Day with the aim to raise the status of animals and improve their welfare standards around the globe. Events and seminars are conducted all over the world to encourage people to come forward and join hands in making the world a better place for all animals.

World Animal Day is a day of annual observance and is celebrated by animal lovers all over the world.

World Animal Day 2023 Overview

Event	World Animal Day 2023
Date	October 4, 2023
Day	Wednesday
Observed by	International observation
World Animal Day 2023 Theme	“Great or small, love them all”
Purpose	To raise the status of animals in order to improve their welfare standards around the globe.

World Animal Day Significance

Animals are sentient being just like human and have every right to be protected from cruelty and receive justice as established under effective animal protection act. Their lives are also affected by the actions of individuals, businesses and nations and it is duty of everyone to make sure that we create a world that is a better place for all animals.

With this aim, the World Animal Day is observed every year on October 4. The day embraces all animals and the unique concerns circulating them. It also aims to develop a compassionate culture which feeds into legal reform and social progress to make this world a fairer place for all living creatures by increasing awareness and education among the people.

History of World Animal Day Observation

The history of World Animal Day dates back to 1925 when Heinrich Zimmermann, a writer and publisher of the magazine Mensch und Hund/Man and Dog felt the need to observe a day dedicated to animals. Zimmermann was the first to organize World Animal Day celebration on 24 March 1925 in Berlin unofficially. The day was later shifted to October 4 to coincide with feast day of Francis of Assisi in 1929.

Initially only few countries like Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Czechoslovakia showed interest in celebrating World Animal Day but Zimmermann continued working tirelessly on the promotion of this day. His proposal to make 4 October as an international observation of World Animal Day was adopted two years later in May 1931 at a congress of the world’s animal protection organizations in Florence Italy.

World Animal Day 2023 Theme and Celebration

World Animal Day celebrated in different ways in every country. Whether you are part of an organization, group, or an individual, you can take active participation in World Animal Day events irrespective of nationality, religion, faith or political ideology. On this day, animal welfare organizations, community groups, youth and children’s clubs, businesses and individuals are encouraged to organize events in celebration of World Animal Day.

People are requested to take an active participation in the awareness & educational events related to animals so that they can know how to help better. Events organized on this day includes shelter open days & pet adoption events, animal blessing services, fundraising events, conferences & workshops, etc. In many schools special seminars are conducted to educate the younger generation about the importance of World Animal Day. Many administrations or groups of individuals organize peaceful protest marches to either raise awareness of a specific animal welfare issue or to encourage governments to introduce animal protection legislation.

You can take active participation in these protests or organize march of your own. You can also donate to establishments working for the welfare of animals or adopt a pet to give an animal a deserving shelter. The theme of World Animal Day 2022 was a ‘shared planet’.

World Animal Day 2023 Theme: “Great or small, love them all”

World Animal Day 2023 Date

Check below the schedule of observing the world animal day in coming years:

Event	Date	Day
World Animal Day 2023	October 4, 2023	Saturday
World Animal Day 2024	October 4, 2024	Friday
World Animal Day 2025	October 4, 2025	Saturday
World Animal Day 2026	October 4, 2026	Sunday
World Animal Day 2027	October 4, 2027	Monday

FAQs

Who was Heinrich Zimmermann and how is he associated with World Animal Day?

Heinrich Zimmermann (1887-1942) was a journalist, editor, writer and animal protection activist worked who worked for the prevention of cruelty to animals. He was the one to establish the celebration of World Animal Day.

What were some previous years’ themes for World Animal Day?

2022 World Animal Day Theme: ‘a shared planet’
The theme for World Animal Day 2021 was “Forest and Livelihoods: Sustaining People and Planet”, “Man and Dog.” for 2020 and “Life below water bodies: for the people and also the planet” for 2019.

Why is World Animal Day observed on 4 October?

October 4 was chosen to celebrate World Animal Day to coincide with the feast day of Francis of Assisi. Francis of Assisi was the patron saint of ecology including animals who died on the eve of 4 October.