Welcome back to The Charity Show Bites, your quick-fire dose of surprising stories, sector insights and the odd fact you can impress your colleagues with over a cuppa.

This week, Tim and Piers celebrate World Animal Day, which marked its 100th anniversary on October 4th, 2025. From street fundraisers and surprise donations to pop-star scarecrows, this episode shines a light on the brilliant animal charities and community projects helping creatures great and small.

In this episode, we explore:

• 🐾 Scottish SPCA’s biggest ever World Animal Day fundraiser – 33 street collections across 15 council areas, powered by hundreds of volunteers.

• 🐴 Remus Horse Sanctuary – open day celebrations in Essex, complete with rescued horses, ponies and donkeys.

• 🐶 £100,000 surprise for Rescue Me Animal Sanctuary – presented by Paddy McGuinness at the Pets Foundation Ball in Liverpool.

• 🐕 Cost of living crisis – new data from the Association of Dogs and Cats Homes showing 97% of rescues face rising demand.

• 🐇 Naturewatch Foundation’s Pet Rescue Grants – microgrants changing lives for small rescue centres like the Bunny Jackpot Foundation and Hope Rescue.

• 🏆 Petplan & ADCH Animal Charity Awards 2025 – celebrating the sector’s unsung heroes, from Cotswold Dogs & Cats Home to British Divers Marine Life Rescue.

• 🌾 Minskip Scarecrow Weekend – North Yorkshire’s eccentric pop-star-themed fundraiser featuring Elvis, Bowie, Madonna… and a surprisingly realistic Meatloaf.

• 🌍 Save Animals, Save the Planet – this year’s global World Animal Day theme reminding us that protecting animals protects our shared environment too.

👉 Whether you’re a dog owner, a donkey fan or just love a good feel-good story, this episode is a cheerful snapshot of how the charity world continues to champion animal welfare, 100 years on from the first World Animal Day.

Useful links

• World Animal Day – worldanimalday.org.uk

• Scottish SPCA – scottishspca.org

• Remus Horse Sanctuary – remussanctuary.org

• Rescue Me Animal Sanctuary

• Association of Dogs and Cats Homes (ADCH) – adch.org.uk

• Naturewatch Foundation – naturewatch.org