, South Africa (2011) Four Paws was founded on 4 March 1988 by Helmut Dungler and friends to protect animals from being
farmed for their fur. In 1991, Four Paws demanded the mandatory labelling of eggs and a total ban on battery cages for egg-laying hens. In 1998, the organisation opened the first sanctuary for bears in
Arbesbach, Austria. In 1999, the foundation brought about the closure of Austria's largest
battery cage egg producer. In 2000,
Bear Sanctuary Belitsa opened in Bulgaria, and the first three former dancing bears moved in. In 2002,
animal welfare entered Germany's
basic law, and
Federal Minister Renate Künast thanked Four Paws by name. In 2005, the
Federal Animal Welfare Act came into force in Austria and banned both fur farming and the use of wild animals in circuses. In 2008, the Lionsrock Big Cat Sanctuary opened in
Bethlehem, South Africa. Helmut Dungler was awarded the Silver Order of Merit for Services Rendered to the Republic of Austria. In 2010, Four Paws started a collaboration with the
Princess Alia Foundation of Jordan, with the Al Ma'wa for Nature and Wildlife project. In 2012, an
EU-wide ban on conventional battery cages for hens came into force. In 2014, the
Bear Sanctuary Prishtina in Kosovo was opened. In 2015, Four Paws initiated a campaign against
canned lion hunting, which attracted 281,000 supporters. In 2018, the organisation rescued lions and bears from "Europe's worst zoo", in
Tirana, Albania. The same year, the first International Animal Welfare Summit was organised by Four Paws in
Vienna, with famous guests that included Chinese artist
Ai Weiwei. On 17 January 2018, Switzerland took a step against anonymous pet trafficking on the internet. From 1 March 2018, online traders have had to provide their full name and address as well as the country of origin and breeding of the dogs offered for sale. On 5 January 2020, Four Paws founder and president, Helmut Dungler, died unexpectedly. That month, Four Paws rescued sick lions from a zoo in
Khartoum, Sudan, after worldwide outrage following concerning reports of the animals' condition. On 16 April, claims by Four Paws in
The Independent stated that there had been a surge in consumption of dog and cat meat in
Vietnam as a result of
fake news suggesting it would cure
COVID-19. Four Paws' former head of stray animal care in Asia Katherine Polak was quoted as saying she strongly suspected doctors were now recommending cat and dog meat to treat the condition. However, on 24 April, the fact-checking nonprofit
PolitiFact rated the claim as false. Reporter Tina Nguyen called it mind-boggling and a nasty racist attack. Four Paws responded with an official statement defending their claims and referring to market research studies conducted between January and March 2019 in Cambodia and May–August 2019 in Vietnam. On 4 September, the organisation, together with veterinarians
Amir Khalil and Frank Goeritz from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, examined and approved "the world's loneliest elephant",
Kaavan, for travel from the
Islamabad Zoo in Pakistan to an elephant sanctuary in Cambodia. The rescue mission to the Cambodia Wildlife Sanctuary, at the end of November 2020, was supported by singer
Cher's NGO Free the Wild and by businessman
Eric Margolis. In January 2021, Four Paws published the Austrian edition of the
Meat Atlas, in cooperation with the
Heinrich Böll Foundation and the environmental protection organization
Global 2000. In 2022, Four Paws provided emergency veterinary care during the
war in Ukraine. In March, four tigers were rescued from
Argentina to find a new home in South Africa. It was the organization's first rescue in South America. Further rescue operations were carried out in
Albania,
Pakistan,
Romania,
Sudan, and Vietnam. Politically, the organisation stepped up its campaign against European
fur farming and in favour of
climate protection. In 2023, the organisation provided emergency aid following the
earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. Other measures included supporting the
European Citizens' Initiative "Fur Free Europe", which collected over 1.5 million signatures for an EU-wide ban on fur farming and ending the use of
mulesed wool at
Nike. In 2024, Four Paws participated in negotiations on the UN pandemic agreement at the
World Health Organization to establish prevention through improved animal welfare. In addition to rescue missions in
Bulgaria and
Slovakia, a new organisational strategy was implemented, which led, among other things, to the expansion of infrastructure in rescue centres such as Felida Big Cat Sanctuary in the Netherlands. In June, the Four Paws documentary
Dethroned premiered in Vienna. In November, the documentary
Eating the Future had its world premiere at the Films for Future Festival at the
Rote Fabrik in
Zurich, Switzerland. In 2025, Four Paws chaired the first animal welfare session at the
World Health Summit and anchored the "One Health" approach in the global pandemic agreement. The organisation also participated in the drafting of a new
EU law to combat the illegal trade in dogs and cats. In October, Four Paws led one of its largest missions to date to rescue over 60 big cats and two bears from a former zoo in Argentina. Other campaigns targeted mulesing at
Michael Kors. ==Objectives==