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FOUR PAWS advocates the responsible treatment of cats and supports animal owners with advice and educational programmes. In addition, we help stray cats across the whole of Germany.
Our vision is a world in which humans treat animals with respect, empathy and understanding.
Four Paws was founded on 4 March 1988 by Helmut Dungler to protect animals from being farmed for their fur. In 1989, the first charges were brought against a number of fur farms in Austria. Furthermore, Austrian Airlines and Lauda Air stopped the transport of captured exotic birds
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
