Lusaka Animal Welfare Society

LAWS mission is to promote the welfare of all animals, to provide shelter and care, and prevent cruelty and suffering for those animals in need. This organisation has a team of volunteers who are welcome to play, socialise with and give basic training to the animals since staff members are often too busy to provide this level of attention all the time.

It is the goal of LAWS to ensure this potential adoption is in the best interest of both the animal and prospective adopters. At the shelter, an adoption counsellor will work with you to determine which pet suits your particular circumstances.

LAWS offers care and a peaceful living environment for abused, aged or homeless animals. They provide an open space facility where these “special needs” animals can be provided with medical care, love, and attention that will ultimately lead to their adoption. If an adoption isn’t possible, the sanctuary provides a lifetime refuge for these animals.

The LAWS shelter runs under the supervision of a small paid staff assisted by volunteers who help clean cages, feed and walk the animals and run various events and fundraisers.

Re-homing animals: LAWS aims to find new homes for animals that have been abused, neglected, abandoned or otherwise surrendered through no fault of their own. Every rescued animal is given all necessary treatment to ensure that it is in good health before it is re-homed.

Rabies campaigns and mobile vet clinics: LAWS has run nine free rabies vaccination campaigns so far. These have taken place in Chipata, Linda, Matero, Kalingalinga and Chunga Compounds where they vaccinated nearly 6000 animals at no cost to their owners. This has been supported by the Becky James Charity, RSPCA and local individuals. With the support of Worldwide Veterinary Services (WVS) LAWS ran its first ever mobile vet clinic in 2009 at the Chunga Compound. Over 600 dogs were de-wormed, dipped or treated for medical conditions free-of-charge.

Spraying/neutering: Many pet owners cannot afford to spray or neuter their pets. LAWS works with seven local veterinary clinics around Lusaka and pay for the sterilization of pets. LAWS is able to provide these services with the financial support from Spay is the Way, Danida, Ad-dicts Ads and SPCA International. Spaying and neutering helps to control domestic animal numbers and ensure their humane treatment. So far a total of 1089 pets have been sterilized for free.

LAWS services

Education and awareness counselling towards anti-cruelty: LAWS is an advocate against animal cruelty and has counselled many groups and individuals on animal care issues. The charity has made appearances on the local television station MUVI-TV and several other public media platforms addressing the issue of animal cruelty and rescue. LAWS is always available for a visit to schools or organisations who are interested in discussing animal care issues.

How you can help

LAWS is a non-profit organisation and does not receive any funding from the Government. LAWS functions entirely through the financial support of volunteers and private donations. The LAWS committee also plays a vital role in ensuring that the charity continues to exist. With spiraling costs for food, veterinary services, staff wages, and other maintenance costs related to running a shelter, fundraising is a constant need for LAWS.

Adopt or foster: The LAWS shelter is almost always full or beyond full. Consider adopting an animal to give them the love and permanent home they need.

Donate: LAWS appreciates any amount that you can donate and offers a receipt for every donation. Donations of food and supplies are also appreciated.

Become a member: A membership fee of K100,000 is charged and this comes with a membership card and 20% discount to LAWS events. This small membership fee contributes to the running costs of LAWS.

Advertise: Paid advertisements on the LAWS website or in the Animal Issues E-Newsletter are another way to help LAWS to raise much-needed funds.

Sponsor: Corporate and individual sponsorships provide LAWS with the steady revenue source that is needed to continue to help animals.

Volunteer: Contribute by giving your time to fundraise, socialise with and walk the dogs.

Some LAWS sponsors include:

• Ad-dicts Ads
• Becky James Foundation
• Country Choice Chicken
• Embassy of Denmark
• RSPCA
• Spay-is-the-Way
• SPCA International
• Tigerfeeds
• World Society for Protection of Animals (WSPA)
• Worldwide Veterinary Service (WVS)
• Zambeef