Jeanne Marchig Award-Recipients

“In Recognition of Outstanding Practical Work and Tireless Dedication in the Field of Animal Welfare and Protection”

2024 - 2011

2024 – Chats du Quercy, France

The ‘Mission’ of the organisation, is to “encourage a world where the needs of cats are known, accepted and respected”. Its constant Aim through its daily work, is to “be able to help even more cats and improve the understanding of their needs”. Since the organisation was established in 2004, it has rehomed many thousands of cats and kittens, and indirectly helped thousands of others all over France. The Chats du Quercy commitment to every cat adopted is for life. It operates two adoption centres and every year, on average, 500 cats and kittens are found permanent, safe homes with responsible and caring owners. It establishes ‘trap-neuter-release’ programmes with town councils. In addition, help is given to enable impoverished individuals to neuter and feed their cats. Education programmes are undertaken in schools and other public places to raise awareness of the need to sterilise cats in order to control the feline population, avoid future abandonment, as well as poor and unacceptable welfare conditions. Through determined hard work and tireless dedication, Chats du Quercy has become known as one of the most effective cat welfare and protection organisations in France, holding a deserved standing for excellence in cat welfare.

2021 | Help in Suffering, India

The Aim of the organisation is to “help suffering animals and all living things”. Since it was established in Jaipur, Rajasthan in 1980, Help in Suffering has operated a busy veterinary hospital providing free medical, surgical and emergency care to birds, domestic and street animals, as well as a specialist Camel Rescue Centre in rural areas to help sick, old and injured camels. It also runs a fleet of rescue ambulances and mobile clinic vehicles; provides safe shelter and care to birds and animals of all species and organises regular Animal Birth Control programmes. Through the much needed services they provide, their hard work and tireless dedication, Help in Suffering is living up to its name of being there on the ‘front line’ every day of the year to help and alleviate the suffering of “animals and all living things”.

2020 | Colette Teale Founder, Karoo Animal Protection Society, South Africa

Over 24 years in the field of animal welfare and protection. Covering a large area, KAPS delivers help to animals where the desperate need for that help exists. Every day, KAPS has to surmount terrible obstacles and face not just the awful and pitiful conditions for animals, but also the unforgiving and at times volatile conditions of the poor people in some of the communities they serve. Without the hard work, courage and tireless dedication of KAPS under the guidance of Colette Teale, the situation would be very much worse.

2019 | Clementien Koenegras Founder & President, Karuna Society for Animals and Nature, India

Over 23 years in the field of animal welfare and protection in India, which began in 1996 when she toured the town of Puttaparthi on a bicycle, providing comfort and care to the street dogs. That motivation has continued to this day and been extended to all animals. She is an active proponent of the ‘Plastic Cow Campaign’, which seeks to ban the dumping of plastic on the streets of India, where it is then ingested into the stomachs of cattle that roam the streets looking for food.

2018 | Carol McBeth Greek Animal Welfare Fund and Marchig Outreach Veterinary Support Team, Greece

Over 30 years in the field of animal welfare and protection in Greece, providing much needed assistance to local animal welfare groups; promoting the importance of understanding, respecting and caring for animals; organising and participating in hundreds of cat and dog outreach sterilisation and care programmes on both the mainland and islands of Greece.

2017 | Geeta Seshamani and Kartick Satyanarayan Co-Founders, Wildlife SOS, India

Both were inspired in 1995, to start a movement to make lasting change to protect and conserve India’s natural heritage, forests and wildlife. One of their early campaigns was to tackle and end the 400-year old tradition of cruelly training and forcing ‘sloth bears’ to ‘dance’. In 2009, Wildlife SOS began its “Elephant Haven Project” which made it possible to rescue, house and rehabilitate, severely abused captive elephants, as well as encouraging the Government, to make a change in the law banning the trade in captive elephants.

2015 | Mary Hutton, Australia Founder, Free the Bears, Asia

Over 22 years in the international field of animal welfare and protection. Her journey with Free the Bears in Asia is built from the start and throughout on compassion, hard work, sheer determination and a genuine desire to bring about change for suffering bears around the world. Her journey is an inspirational one for everyone seeking to effect change.

2014 | Sara Turetta Founder and President of Save the Dogs and other Animals, Italy and Romania

Since their work began in Romania in 2002, the organisation has sterilised free of charge, many tens-of-thousands of stray cats and dogs; provided medical care to the animals of poor and disadvantaged families; operated ‘outreach programmes’ to provide help to those in outlying villages, including care for working equines. Save the Dogs and other Animals has become one of the most effective animal welfare and protection organisations in Romania.

2013 | Luke Gamble Founder and CEO, Worldwide Veterinary Service, UK

Since 2003, WVS has been providing expert veterinary care to the world’s most vulnerable animals through sending thousands of volunteer ‘veterinary teams’ to almost every continent and when required, ‘Emergency Response Teams’ to help needy ‘front line’ organisations cope with the suffering animals. In addition, WVS has established International Veterinary Training Centre’s in India and Thailand and a ‘Mission Rabies’ initiative, which undertakes mass anti-rabies vaccination programmes in India, Sri Lanka and in a number of African countries. Under the guidance of veterinarian Luke Gamble, WVS is making a real difference wherever they go.

2011 | Gill and John Dalley Co-Founder’s, Soi Dog Foundation, Thailand

Retiring to the island of Phuket had been the plan, but the scenes they witnessed on arrival drove them instead to try and help end the appalling suffering endured by street dogs and cats on the island. Since that day in 2003, hundreds of thousands of dogs and cats have been sterilised and the sight of emaciated and sick dogs on the streets of Phuket is a thing of the past. Mobile sterilisation clinics are now run in other provinces, as well as in Bangkok. Modern animal hospitals have been built and a campaign launched to end the cruel trade in dogs destined for the brutal meat markets of Asia.