Animal protection, 7 ways to act for animal welfare.

1 - Learn about animal exploitation and animal protection.

Generally, the more 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 sense of the term, animals are far from being hollow and uninteresting, and that animals deserve to be treated as well as humans.

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

2 - Adopt a pet from a shelter.

For a variety of reasons, including removing a species from the wild, sterilization, and the meat-based diet required by many domestic species, there are mixed opinions among animal advocates about whether domestication is compatible with animal welfare.

However, most people agree that adopting from a shelter is preferable to buying from a pet store or breeder for those who want to bring a pet into their life.

In fact, the litters of puppies, kittens, or other species sold in this type of business are generally the result of programmed matings imposed on mothers who are forced to have a series of births.

In addition to the exploitation inherent in this type of breeding, these practices harm the health of the surrogate females. In addition, this method feeds a trade that does not guarantee that newborns will find a family to welcome them. This means that less sought-after individuals or breeds risk spending their lives in shelters, and ending up euthanized if they are never taken in.

Also, adoption from a shelter such as the SPA will not only prevent animals from 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.

In addition, this solution has the merit of helping the chosen animal shelter, by relieving it of one of its residents, knowing that due to the many abandonments, shelters are very often overloaded and struggle to provide all the care necessary for the well-being of the animals taken in.

4 - Prioritize visiting nature reserves over zoos.

““Turning like a caged lion”. If the expression is as old as the world, it expresses in a very telling way the reality of the ordeal experienced by animals in captivity. Many zoos, animal parks, aquatic centers and traveling circuses continue to stage animals, who in addition to being deprived of their freedom, undergo a grueling routine between training phases, repeated exhibitions, and confinement.

Also, favoring visits to natural sites, which do not feature animals under duress, avoids feeding this type of business, and protects the animals imprisoned in this type of attraction from physical and psychological mistreatment.

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 flourish in complete freedom from a distance.

What is more, the visits have the merit of helping to finance the preservation of natural spaces.

Eco-circuses such as the famous Cirque du Soleil or the Éco-cirque Bouglione have chosen to put aside acts featuring animals in favor of those by circus artists, to offer magnificent shows, without animal abuse.

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 materials of animal origin, or those tested on animals, allows you to indulge yourself while giving your voice to a mode of consumption excluding animal exploitation, and by supporting committed brands.

Just like a growing number of vegan brands, having chosen to respect animals in their manufacturing charter, COG is proud to only market vegan shoes and some vegan sneakers without materials of animal origin (no leather, no animal glue, no suffering in our country). All our products are in fact composed of vegan leathers, of recycled materials, as well as European plant materials 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 Laika And Richelieu Aiko.

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

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

Everyone therefore has their own way of discussing these themes according to their affinities and the opportunities given to us to do so, always of course with patience and kindness.

Campaigning within associations:

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

Support 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 the 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 with animal defense remains a way of making their voice heard, and of hoping for a better esteem of their status as sentient beings.