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Animal Welfare Services For Domestic Animals

Animal protection organisations in developed countries are largely aimed at dealing with issues relating to domestic pets.  Many organisations function to both protect animals as well as providing animal rescue services.  For example, the RSPCA is largely involved in animal welfare inspections and rescue operations, and housing rescued animals until they find new homes.  In addition, the RSPCA and other domestic animal protection organisations, aim to protect companion animals by providing expert advice to the community and educating people on responsible pet ownership.

The main goal of animal rescue organisations is to rehome animals in environments where their welfare is protected and enhance the knowledge of the community on responsible pet ownership.  Such organisations aim to reduce the incidence of euthanasia and increase animal adoption.  They provide animal shelters, care centres and adoption centres where they house domestic animals that have been rescued, either as a result of abuse or abandonment, or have been found as strays.  Here, the animals are protected and cared for until they are adopted into a new home.  Many centres also incorporate veterinary outpatient consulting rooms where they provide onsite medical treatment for rescue animals when required.

Animal protection organisations that deal with domestic animal issues often find that pets suffer, not through a lack of love, but through the owner’s lack of knowledge and/or resources.  Often pet owners are not educated enough, or have sufficient finances, to be in a position to look after and care for their companion animals adequately.  Animal protection organisations, therefore, operate numerous education programs and community services.

In developing countries, the focus of animal protection organisations in the context of domesticated animals is primarily on controlling community and stray dog populations.  “Pet” dogs are uncommon in developing countries. Instead, most of the dog population consists of community dogs that are loosely associated with different households or stray scavenger dogs.  For example, in a Mexican village, Miacatlan, 85% of houses are used as a “home base” by community and stray dogs.  The high incidence of these dog populations presents a risk in the spread of zoonotic diseases, largely rabies, so animal protection organisations work to develop population control programmes.

Some programmes involve opportunistically poisoning large numbers of dogs on a periodical basis.  This method is not generally successful as dogs respond to their interim population demise by increasing their breeding frequency and having larger litters.  It is estimated that an extremely large number of the population (over 70%) must be killed to obtain a significant reduction in dog numbers.

Other population control programmes implement the “trap, neuter, vaccinate and release” method.  This method has been applied in some developing countries and has successfully reduced community/stray dog numbers, increased the health of the general dog population and improved human attitudes towards dogs.

Do you have a passion for animals, and want to know more or be involved with promoting their rights and welfare?  ACS offer a wide range of animal courses, including:

  • Our new Animal Welfare course which looks primarily at the welfare of domestic animals.
  • Pet Care - a course concerned with the principles of caring for a variety of different household pets (including cats, dogs, birds, fish, rabbits, reptiles and amphibians, guinea pigs, hamsters, and mice).
  • Advanced Certificate In Animal Care And Behaviour - a specialist course providing a broad foundation of knowledge in animal behaviour and care.


  • If you are not ready to study with a full length course, you may also be interested in our new Short Courses - 20 hour online studies, with course titles including Dog Owner Short Course.


Increase your knowledge, feed your passion - start studying with ACS today!


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