Who We Are
We are powered by human connections.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare is a global non-profit helping animals and people thrive together. We are experts and everyday people, working across seas, oceans, and in more than 40 countries around the world. We rescue, rehabilitate, and release animals, and we restore and protect their natural habitats. The problems we’re up against are urgent and complicated. To solve them, we match fresh thinking with bold action. We partner with local communities, governments, non-governmental organizations, and businesses. Together, we pioneer new and innovative ways to help all species flourish.
We tackle complicated problems with creativity.
The problems we face are growing larger and more complex every day. More online trafficking. More ocean noise. More powerful storms. We’ve been around for more than 50 years, but we know our solutions can’t stay the same. We have to be nimble, curious, and open to new partners. In short, we have to think, and act, differently.
When euthanasia seemed like the only option for stranded marine mammals, we found another way. We developed new technology to safely release them back into the ocean. When people in Bali were getting sick after natural disasters, we found the source: unvaccinated dogs. Now, we are making sure that island dogs get their rabies vaccines. And when we wanted to stop whale hunting in Japan, we called up the very last entity you could imagine: the Icelandic Tourism Board.
We’re not just finding a different way to do things. We’re finding a better way.
We make things happen.
Our experts aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty—or, in the case of a right whale necropsy, their entire body. Whether it’s rescuing stranded seals or patrolling national parks, we’re out on the frontlines of the field. We are creating better outcomes for animals, for people, and for the places we call home.
In India, we secured and donated the land to create a corridor where elephants could roam between habitats. Now, we’re working to secure 101 of those corridors across the country. In Kenya, our unique approach to wildlife crime has significantly reduced poaching from taking place in the areas we work. And in our backyard of Cape Cod, we’ve improved the release rates for dolphins from one out of every ten to three out of every four. It’s not always glamorous work, but it’s always necessary work. And it’s work that leads to results.
We believe that every animal matters.
When we rescue one animal—a house pet abandoned in a hurricane, a milk cow displaced by an earthquake, a right whale entangled in fishing line—we’re doing much more than saving a life. We’re reuniting a family. We’re restoring a community’s livelihood. We’re saving a species on the brink of extinction. We’re saving our planet.
Since 2000, across six continents and the ocean, we have rescued more than 275,000 animals. That’s just a fraction of the number of animals living in distress, to be sure. But when we measure our progress, we find cause for hope.