Animal protection: 7 ways to act for animal welfare.

1 - Learn about animal exploitation and animal protection.

Generally, the better you know a person, the more attentive you are to their well-being.

Let us start from this observation to get to know our animal friends better, in order to better appreciate that, contrary to the reductive meaning of the term, animals are far from being hollow and uninteresting, and that animals deserve to be treated as well as humans.

To this end, numerous publications, books or magazines, are now available to us to learn more about animal species and to appreciate more finely the richness of the animal world.

2 - Adopt a pet from a shelter.

For various reasons, including removing a species from its wild environment, sterilization, or the meat-based diet required by many domestic species, opinions are divided among animal rights advocates regarding the compatibility of domestication and animal welfare.

Nevertheless, the majority of people agree that adopting from a shelter is preferable to buying from a pet shop or breeder, for those who wish to bring a pet into their life.

Indeed, the litters of puppies, kittens, or other species sold in this type of trade are generally the result of programmed and imposed matings of mothers pushed to have a series of births.

In addition to the exploitation inherent in this type of breeding, these practices harm the health of the pregnant females. Furthermore, this method fuels a trade that doesn't guarantee newborns will find homes. This means that less desirable individuals or breeds risk spending their lives in shelters and being euthanized if they are never adopted.

Also, adopting from a shelter such as those of the SPA will not only prevent animals from suffering this kind of dark fate, but it is also a nice way to offer a second chance and a better living environment to an abandoned animal.

Moreover, this solution has the merit of helping the chosen animal shelter by relieving it of one of its residents, knowing that due to the numerous abandonments, shelters are very often overcrowded and struggle to provide all the necessary care for the well-being of the animals they take in.

4 - Favor visiting nature reserves over visiting zoos.

“Pacing like a caged lion. While the expression is as old as time, it vividly conveys the reality of the ordeal endured by animals in captivity. Many zoos, wildlife parks, aquatic centers, and traveling circuses continue to use animals in performances that, in addition to being deprived of their freedom, subject them to a grueling routine of training, repeated exhibitions, and confinement.

Also, favouring visits to natural sites, which do not feature animals under constraint, avoids fueling this kind of business, and protects animals imprisoned in this kind of attraction from physical and psychological abuse.

Unlike a cage, nature reserves extend over vast open-air territories, offering endemic species all the space they need to live with their peers, far from human interference.

Preferable for the well-being and protection of animals, visiting these spaces is also an opportunity to marvel at the beauty of animal life in the wild, observing them flourishing freely from a distance.

Moreover, the visits have the merit of helping to finance the preservation of natural spaces.

Eco-circuses like the famous Cirque du Soleil or the Bouglione Eco-circus, have chosen to set aside acts featuring animals, in favor of those of circus artists, to offer magnificent shows, without animal mistreatment.

6 - Prefer to buy vegan fashion items.

Heading towards vegan articles (vegan fashion, Vegan cosmetics, etc.) by paying attention to their composition and avoiding products containing animal-derived ingredients, or those tested on animals, allows you to indulge yourself while giving your voice to a mode of consumption that excludes animal exploitation, and by supporting the brands committed.

Like a growing number of vegan brands, which have chosen to respect animals in their manufacturing charter, COG is proud to only market vegan shoes and vegan sneakers without animal-derived materials (no leather, no animal glue, no suffering on our part). All our products are indeed made of vegan leathers, of recycled materials, as well as European plant materials derived from plant waste, such as grape leather that we use in the manufacture of our vegan sneakers Topsy, Wallace, or even our women's ankle boots Laïka And Richelieu Aïko.

Also, our brand is PETA APPROVED VEGAN certified, and we are happy to be committed to animal welfare by donating a portion of our profits to activist organizations like the Futur association. Elephant Haven, Or the refuge of Noah's Ark.

It also involves making heard the needs that animals in distress may have, but also, on the contrary, mentioning the positive and benevolent initiatives carried out in their favor, or even mentioning the little-known specificities that characterize each species, which can lead people who are not educated on this subject to become interested in and commit themselves to defending animal welfare.

HAS chacun.e Therefore, his way of addressing his themes depends on his affinities and the opportunities given to us to do so, always of course with patience and kindness.

Activism within associations:

Taking part in demonstrations or peaceful actions alongside community groups allows people wishing to get involved in a more committed form of activism to surround themselves with others in order to carry out larger-scale projects, and to be better advised and supported to succeed in achieving them.

Supporting a political party that defends animal rights:

Just as politics has the role of organizing the exercise of power in a society in the interest of its citizens, it has a duty to defend the rights of animals as individuals and sentient beings in their own right.

Also, supporting or joining a political party with a particular affinity for animal rights remains a way to make their voices heard, and to hope for a better appreciation of their status as sentient beings.