Golden Fressnapf on World Animal Day

Fressnapf in Switzerland honoured dedicated animal welfare activists with the ‘Tierisch engagiert’ (Animal Commitment) awards on 4 October. Associations, initiatives, animal shelters and even small private animal welfare organisations – the winning projects received the Golden Fressnapf and other awards.

‘The relationship between humans and animals is invaluable and deserves our support. With this award, we not only want to recognise the work of animal welfare activists, but also encourage young, committed people to continue their efforts to protect animals,’ emphasised Hermann Aigner, Managing Director of Fressnapf Switzerland and Austria. Since 2014, Fressnapf Switzerland has invested more than one million Swiss francs in animal welfare projects and over two million euros in Austria, supporting numerous organisations and associations in both countries.

As part of the ‘Tierisch engagiert’ initiative, the jury has selected the ‘Pet of the Year’ for the second time this year. The winner receives a year's supply of pet food worth 1,500 CHF. This year, the winner was Filou, a 15-year-old cat who was saved from

being put down. 

The winners in the animal welfare category not only receive the Golden Fressnapf award, but also prize money of 5,000 CHF for their organisation: Fondation SOS Chats in the canton of Neuchâtel, which offers abandoned and abused cats a loving home for the rest of their lives. Also in the canton of Neuchâtel, the La colline aux lapins association was honoured for its tireless work with found and unwanted rabbits, while the Igelnothilfe Brugg in the canton of Aargau gives sick, injured and weakened hedgehogs a second chance. The Schwyz Animal Welfare Association, with its own Burg animal shelter, cares for feral cat colonies in the canton and regularly carries out cat neutering. The Zurich Animal Welfare Association in the canton of the same name received the award for its ‘Children read to cats’ project, which aims to accustom cats to humans and socialise them. In addition, the St. Gallen Wild Bird Care Station Foundation was honoured for its animal carers and wild bird experts, who raise, care for and release wild birds back into the wild in a professional and species-appropriate manner.