World Animal Day
Next: October 4, 2027
Thank the animals in your life.
The story
Where it comes from
World Animal Day was the idea of Heinrich Zimmermann, a Warsaw-born writer who published the magazine Mensch und Hund ('Man and Dog') in Berlin. He held the first celebration on 24 March 1925 at the Berlin Sport Palace, with more than 5,000 people, because the hall was not free on the date he wanted. In 1929 it moved to 4 October, the feast day of St Francis of Assisi, patron saint of animals, and in 1931 an animal-protection congress in Florence adopted it worldwide.
How it's celebrated
Animal charities, schools, children's groups, clubs and companies hold events large and small to raise awareness of how animals are treated. Since 2003 the UK charity Naturewatch Foundation has coordinated the day online, and more than 90 volunteer ambassadors promote it in over 70 countries. At home it is a day to thank the animals we share our lives with.
Did you know
- St Francis died on the eve of 4 October 1226, so the day went worldwide 705 years after his death.
- Zimmermann at first found followers only in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Czechoslovakia, and promoted the day every year until it was adopted worldwide.
- Malaysia had as many as 3,000 tigers in the 1950s; fewer than 150 Malayan tigers were left in the wild by 2022, and the subspecies is listed as Critically Endangered.
Coming up next
- World Teachers' Day · October 5, 2027
- International Geodiversity Day · October 6, 2027
- World Cotton Day · October 7, 2027
- Chung Yeung Festival · October 8, 2027
- The First Implanted Pacemaker · October 8, 2027
- World Post Day · October 9, 2027