Ricky Gervais Promotes Collars Not Cruelty Campaign

As an actor and writer he’s tickled our funny bones on The Office, Extras and as a host of The Golden Globes, but as an animal activist Ricky Gervais tugs at our heartstrings. Always ready to help a paws cause, the caustic comic has helped to shine a spotlight on such pressing subjects as puppy mills, animal experimentation and Greyhound racing, and now for the second year Gervais has joined forces with WSPA in the fight to end the senseless and brutal mass killing of dogs due to the fear of rabies.

Each year 20 million street dogs– that’s 38 dogs every minute– lose their lives in areas of the world where rabies prevention is not readily available. To help turn the tide, in 2011 the World Society for the Protection of Animals launched the Collars Not Cruelty campaign on World Rabies Day, which will be recognized this year on September 28th.

Promoting the Collars Not Cruelty campaign, Gervais stated: “Every year more than 55,000 people die from rabies, mostly as a result of dog bites. In response, many governments organise mass dog culls in a mis-guided attempt to eliminate the disease. But the culling of dogs is needless, cruel and ineffective in the fight against rabies.

“I’m backing WSPA’s Red Collar campaign, to help end the unnecessary deaths of million dogs, culled every year, because of our fear of rabies.

“WSPA is calling on governments and communities everywhere to replace culling with mass dog vaccination programmes, during which dogs are fitted with red collars to show they are vaccinated against this deadly disease.

“Mass vaccinations are the only proven solution for controlling rabies, in both dogs and humans”.

Photo Credit: WSPA International