International Animal Day, celebrated on October 4. PHOTO GALLERY with the cute furry ones

The International Animal Day (“World Animal Day”) is celebrated annually on October 4.

It is marked in most countries of the world to promote the rights and welfare of all animals, whether owned or not, wild or domestic, according to worldanimalday.org.uk.

International Animal Day is all the more important and relevant as experts in biodiversity and environmental protection draw numerous signals related to the current situation of animals.

How International Animal Day came about

The initiative to establish the International Animal Day belonged to the German writer and publicist Heinrich Zimmermann, an ardent defender of animal rights, editor of the magazine Mensh und Hund (Man and Dog).

The first edition of the International Animal Day consisted of the organization of exhibitions and speeches hosted by the Sports Palace in Berlin, on March 24, 1925, according to www.worldanimalday.org.uk. The event, which gathered over 5,000 participants, had been scheduled for October 4, but the organizers did not find a sufficiently spacious place available for that date.

The situation continued until 1929, when, for the first time, the day dedicated to animals was marked on October 4. In a short time, Zimmermann’s idea began to have echoes outside the borders of Germany, especially in Austria, Switzerland and Czechoslovakia.

However, October 4 officially became a world day dedicated to animals only in May 1931, when the German publicist’s initiative was adopted at the International Congress for the Protection of Animals, held in Florence.

“The International Animal Day is not only a tribute to all the non-speakers and the people who love and respect them, but also an opportunity to reflect on the role that Nature has entrusted to us. We are all obliged to understand that Man is not the absolute master of the Earth, but he is the one who has the power and purpose to lead, with reason and responsibility, the destinies of the planet”, it is stated on the website of the Ministry of the Environment, http://www.mmediu.ro.

October 4 is also the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscan order and heavenly protector of the environment and animals, according to http://www.ercis.ro/. The legend says that the saint had the power to teach and rebuke animals, even managing to tame a wolf with just a kind word, notes the quoted source.

The first works on the rights and protection of animals were published in the 18th century, and the first law for the protection of animals was called “Martin’s Act” and was voted by the British Parliament on July 22, 1822. The text of the Universal Declaration of Animal Rights was adopted by the International Animal Rights League and Affiliated National Leagues, during the International Meeting on Animal Rights, held in London between September 21-23, 1977. The Universal Declaration of Animal Rights was solemnly proclaimed at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, at October 15, 1978.

In 2004, the Romanian Parliament adopted Law no. 205, amended by Law no. 9/2008 and by Law no. 171/2017, legislative act that regulates the necessary measures to ensure the living conditions and well-being of animals with or without a keeper. In paragraph (2) of Article 17, it is prohibited to use animals belonging to the vertebrate suborder, regardless of the degree of taming, born in captivity or captured from nature, in circus shows, traveling circuses, caravans and bands of traveling artists, as well as in any other similar types of shows.