IFAW: Animal heroes from around the UK to receive awards
(London – October 22, 2012) – Animal heroes will tomorrow (Tue) receive prestigious awards for their outstanding work from the International Fund for Animal Welfare.
IFAW’s annual Animal Action Awards ceremony will be hosted at the House of Lords by Baroness Gale and presented by Queen legend Brian May.
This year’s winners include former Olympian Fiona Oakes, from Essex, who runs a sanctuary for 400 rescued animals, 365 years a day without having taken a holiday or even gone for a meal out in 16 years. Receiving awards alongside Fiona will be young vet Vikki Fowler, from Lancashire, who is honoured for rescuing and rehabilitating neglected horses and Julie Hinks from Hampshire, who cares for and rehomes tortoises, many of which are rescued after being smuggled into the UK illegally.
Robbie Marsland, UK Director of IFAW, said: “We are delighted to be able to highlight the fantastic work done by all the winners of IFAW’s 2012 Animal Action Awards. We believe their stories are truly inspirational and hope that their example will encourage others to do all they can to protect animals. They are all true animal heroes.”
This year’s animal of the year award goes to Haatchi, an Anatolian shepherd dog who suffered horrific injuries after being tied to a railway line and hit by a train. Haatchi survived the amputation of a rear leg and his tail and was adopted by Colleen Drummond, her fiancé Will Howkins and his seven-year-old son Owen, in Hampshire. After forging an amazing friendship with Owen, who suffers from a rare genetic condition, the family decided his gentle nature would make him an ideal Pets as Therapy dog to work with amputee soldiers and seriously ill children.
Also honoured is Kate Williams, a volunteer pet foster carer with Bolton-based Paws for Kids, which provides specialised support for women and children pet owners in the North West who are fleeing domestic violence. Helen Griffiths, from Dorset, receives an award for her tireless rescue of animals, particularly dogs, over the last 20 years, rehabilitating traumatised animals and finding them new homes. Elsewhere, Grace Yoxon, from the Isle of Skye, is recognised for her global work in otter conservation.
Campaigner of the year award goes to Lorraine Platt from Surrey for her work encouraging Conservative Party members to speak out in favour of the UK ban on hunting with dogs and other animal welfare issues through ‘The Blue Fox: Conservatives Against Fox Hunting’. Sheila Stewart from Mold, North Wales, receives an animal rescue award for rescuing thousands of birds and animals over more than 30 years. An international campaigner award will be given to Sigursteinn Masson, for his work publicly opposing whaling and encouraging whale conservation in his native Iceland.
Ends
For more information, photos or to arrange interviews please contact Clare Sterling in the IFAW UK Press Office on +44 (0)20 7587 6708, mobile +44 (0)7917 507717, email csterling@ifaw.org or alternatively visit www.ifaw.org
Stock photos of award winners are available in advance and photos from the ceremony, which lasts from 12 noon until 2pm, will be available shortly after.
Notes to Editors:
Animal Action Awards, sponsored by the Sunday Express newspaper and supported by Nat Geo Wild, are part of IFAW’s annual Animal Action Week which takes place around the world involving thousands of schoolchildren who are motivated to get involved in animal welfare. This year’s Animal of the Year Award is sponsored by Animal Friends, www.animalfriends.org.uk
If you would like to nominate someone for an Animal Action Award for 2013 please write to: IFAW Animal Action Week, 87-90 Albert Embankment, London, SE1 7UD.
About IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare)
Founded in 1969, IFAW saves animals in crisis around the world. With projects in more than 40 countries, IFAW rescues individual animals, works to prevent cruelty to animals and advocates for the protection of wildlife and habitats. For more information, visit www.ifaw.org. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter
See below for additional background on winners, awards and regions:
ANIMAL CARER AWARD: FIONA OAKES. Tower Hill Stables founder Fiona Oakes (43), from Asheldham, Essex, competed in track cycling at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and has 17 UK national titles for cycling as well as having run 24 marathons. But life is very different now for Fiona, who also swapped a career working for merchant banks and stockbrokers in exchange for a smallholding. Taking in one sick horse led to many more unwanted animals arriving at her door and she now runs a 25-acre site caring for around 400 animals at any one time.
VET OF THE YEAR AWARD: VIKKI FOWLER. As a newly-qualified equine vet, Vikki Fowler (26), from Darwen, Lancashire, was called to a farm in Bolton to help a shire horse struggling in a ditch. Finding the horse near to death she paid the owner £1,500 to buy the horse which she called Hope and nursed her back to health after feeding and nursing her through the night. She then began a Facebook campaign to highlight the plight of 27 other horses in a similar condition and the campaign gained worldwide attention, helping Vikki secure food, care and new homes for the other horses.
WILDLIFE CRIME RESCUE AWARD: JULIE HINKS. For the last 15 years, Julie Hinks (46) from Fareham, Hampshire, has been rescuing unwanted tortoises through her non-profit Hampshire Tortoise Society. Julie stages regular education and fundraising events as well as running a telephone and email helpline. The society currently has 350 animals being fostered and many of these were smuggled into the UK where it is illegal to import tortoises. Julie works closely with HM customs and the Wildlife Police who pass seized animals into her care. She currently cares for around 30 tortoises at her sanctuary.
ANIMAL OF THE YEAR AWARD: HAATCHI. Anatolian shepherd dog Haatchi had already overcome a lot to survive the injuries he suffered after being tied to a railway track as a puppy. Finding a new and loving home with Colleen Drummond, her fiancé Will Howkins and his seven-year-old son Owen in Basingstoke, Hampshire, also meant a new start for Owen whose rare genetic condition means he misses out on lots of the activities enjoyed by other youngsters and has to have regular hospital visits. Meeting Haatchi, who also has to have regular medical treatment and therapy, spelt the start of a very special friendship between the two and made Colleen realise that Haatchi’s gentle nature with the youngster would make him an ideal Pets as Therapy dog. Having recently qualified after his training, Haatchi, who is now just over a year old, is set to make regular visits to amputee soldiers being rehabilitated after injuries suffered in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as sick children in hospitals and hospices.
VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR AWARD: KATE WILLIAMS. Pet foster carer Kate Williams (47) from Stretford, Manchester, was one of the first volunteers to respond to an appeal by Paws for Kids in Bolton. Over the last 12 years she has fostered 37 cats and 21 dogs, enabling their owners to access safe refuge accommodation and preventing further domestic abuse to them, their children and their pets. Kate was nominated as an inspiration to other foster carers and someone always prepared to go the extra mile. She has never refused a call from a family in crisis.
COMPANION ANIMAL AWARD: HELEN GRIFFITHS. For the last 20 years, Helen Griffiths (51) from Poole, Dorset, has made part of her home a sanctuary for rescued and injured animals. She set up her own charity, the Dorset Animal Workers Group, with a team of dedicated volunteers and foster carers in the Poole and Bournemouth areas with the aim of helping all animals in need, but particularly dogs in need of rehoming. Some of the dogs are rescued from dog fighting rings and many require a great deal of training and socialising before they are ready for adoption.
CONSERVATION AWARD: GRACE YOXON. Nominated by her daughter for her award, Grace Yoxon (56) from Broadford, Isle of Skye, set up the International Otter Survival Fund in 1993. Now one of the world’s leading otter charities, the Fund was inspired by time spent observing otters in their natural habitat – Grace and her husband have more than 20 years’ experience of watching and studying otters on the Isle of Skye. They run an otter hospital for orphaned and injured animals beside their home and are consultants to the main ecological and governmental organisations in Scotland and England, carrying out important environmental surveys in relation to otters.
CAMPAIGNER OF THE YEAR AWARD: LORRAINE PLATT. After having a passion for animal welfare from an early age, Lorraine Platt (50) from Thames Ditton, Surrey, set up The Blue Fox: Conservatives Against Fox Hunting, in 2010 with her husband. The aim of the group is to work within the Conservative Party, to advance animal welfare. The group was initially set up to represent the two-thirds of Conservative supporters and the 75% of the general population who believe hunting with dogs should remain illegal. It works to support more than 20 Conservative MPs who are against hunting with dogs and encourages more Conservative MPs to join and speak out on the issue. More recently, Lorraine has also launched a new campaign website, Blue Badger, to stand against the proposed UK badger cull.
ANIMAL RESCUE AWARD: SHEILA STEWART. Capricorn Animal Rescue Centre was founded in Mold, North Wales, more than 30 years ago by Sheila Stewart (64) who lives in Mold and cares for injured birds and animals from a huge area spanning from Conwy and Shropshire to Liverpool, Chester, Wrexham and Flintshire. Since then she has housed, cared for and re-homed thousands of birds and animals. She has also raised £150,000 to rebuild and upgrade the sanctuary. She first began rescuing animals at the age of four and even turned up to her own wedding carrying a two-week-old kitten which required hourly feeding. There are currently more than 200 animals at Sheila’s sanctuary, from ducks and owls to hedgehogs and ferrets.
INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGNER: SIGURSTEINN MASSON. A former TV journalist and documentary maker, Sigursteinn Masson (45), from Reykjavik, Iceland, has been working with IFAW since 2003 as the organisation’s representative in Iceland. He has made a significant contribution to fostering the debate on whaling in Iceland, where IFAW works to end commercial whaling and promote responsible whale watching as a humane alternative. For the last two years, Sigursteinn has trained dozens of volunteers to work on IFAW’s ‘Meet Us Don’t Eat Us’ campaign, which informs tourists about the whaling issue and encourages them to avoid eating whale meat during their time in the country. Sigursteinn’s educational work has also done much to inform young Icelanders about the whaling issue with thousands of young people having heard one of his school or college lectures
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