The Brooke builds a network of trained vets, animal health workers and farriers in a number of countries around the world.  They work to protect working horses, donkeys and mules from disease, injury and pain. They reach 1.6 million animals across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.  The animals are all lifelines to their owners. 

For instance, the Brooke has now reached over 9,000 horses, donkeys and mules with emergency treatment, feed and health advice in Pakistan.

Find out more about the Brooke here

To support this work, they have an online shop which is open for Christmas shopping!  And they have 12 lovely Christmas card designs for you to choose from this year – it will be hard to choose which to buy!

Take a peek at the Christmas card range from The Brooke this year.  Most designs are £4.50 per pack.  The funds raised from The Brooke Shop help The Brooke support working animals across the world.   

Click here to see the range of Virtual Gifts that The Brooke has – give more than one gift with a virtual gift! They really are win-wins!  

You can buy hard-working horses or donkeys a place to rest, a permanent water point, first aid kits, life saving food, a hoof trimming kit, online vet training, a medical kit bag or a farrier qualification.  There's lots to choose from, starting at £5.00.

Visit the Brooke's online shop here and make a difference when you do your Christmas shopping!

PETA Asia have documented terrible abuse of horses in Egypt.  You can see the footage on You Tube here and watch the video below - beware, it is distressing to see.  

They are being forced to take carriages, full of people, in awful heat at the topo tourist sites.  They have no shade, or shelter or water.  

PETA Asia’s footage shows the horses eating rubbish in skips to survive.

This can lead to colic which can be deadly and is very painful.

The horses are worked all the time, and they are beaten when they falter – even when they collapse.

PETA Asia says that many of the horses used for rides in Luxor and Giza had painful, bloody wounds.  But they were still taking tourists (who should know better than to use the horse carts if the horses are in this state).  Horses with very bad injuries don’t get veterinary care.  Some have been branded with red-hot metal ions.

The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and the Giza Governorate claimed they would act to ban the rides months ago. 

Nothing has changed.

PETA Asia has a petition on their website urging the Egyptian government to ban horse drawn carriages at once.

3 actions you can take:

1. Please help horses and sign the petition here.
2. Please spread the word on social media about the petition
3. Please don’t take part in such rides whilst on holiday.

Free the Bears need our help!

They have sanctuaries in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, home to sun bears and moon bears.  These beautiful animals have been rescued from a life of captivity, kept for bear bile farming.  

The bears all need rehabilitation, the right diet, medical help, and enrichment in the form of things such as hammocks to laze in, climbing platforms, swimming pools to take a leisurely dip in, dens and forest enclosures. 

This video gives you an idea of what Free the Bears does.
Visit their You Tube Channel here for more videos!

On Monday, 29^th August, their government partners from Luang Namtha, a province in the far north of Laos, contacted Free the Bears.  They wanted to tell them about 2 moon bear cubs, both orphans, who needed help!

Free the Bears started to get ready for rescue, and last night, their government partners told them of another moon bear cub.  The cub was being held illegally in the same province. 

The team from Free the Bears have set off on what will be a long journey to rescue all the cubs – they hope to reach their destination on Wednesday 31 August.

If you are able to spare a few pennies to help with the rescues, Free the Bears would be very grateful – and so would the bears!

All bears love honey, so you could send the bears a pot of honey as a virtual gift!

There are a number of ways you can donate, and if you have a bear lover in your life, you could give them a bear gift, either for the bears or for people.  You could also become a bear carer from £5 a month – find out more about that here.

Visit Free the Bears' website here

Don't forget if you're in the UK to watch Bears About the House on BBC2 on Friday 2 September 2022 at 8pm!