Actor Brian Blessed OBE, Dragons’ Den entrepreneur Deborah Meaden, and Downton Abbey and After Life 2 star Peter Egan, have joined together to speak up for working animals around the world, in a new animated film for the charity SPANA (the Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad).
View the film here:
SPANA improves the welfare of working animals in 26 developing countries worldwide, providing free veterinary treatment, training for owners in how to better look after their animals and humane education for school children.
The film aims to raise awareness of the lives of working animals overseas by showing the solidarity of our own working animals on strike. A sniffer dog (voiced by Brian Blessed), police horse (Peter Egan) and sheepdog (played by Deborah Meaden) are comically shown ignoring their daily duties and protesting in solidarity with animals in developing countries.
Around the world, more than 200 million working animals, such as horses, donkeys, camels and elephants, support the livelihoods of more than half a billion people in the poorest communities. By transporting food, water, firewood and people, they make it possible for families to earn a small income.
However, these animals often endure terrible working conditions, carrying backbreaking loads in extreme temperatures. In the vast majority of cases, they face short and painful lives, with no access to veterinary care when they are sick or injured.
Brian Blessed said: ‘I support SPANA’s work wholeheartedly, and it was wonderful to be a part of this new film. In the poorest communities across the world, people work tirelessly to simply put food on the table for their families – and working animals are their lifeline. The lives of these people and animals are unimaginably difficult, but we can help make a considerable difference to them.’
SPANA worked with award-winning agency Don’t Panic to create the awareness-raising film.
To find out more about SPANA’s work please visit: https://spana.org/onstrike