Help Animals in Livingstone, Zambia (ZAWS)

Zambezi Animal Welfare Services (ZAWS) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization that seeks to provide animal welfare, veterinary and protection services to dogs and cats in the southern Zambian city of Livingstone and the surrounding rural areas.

ZAWS has four main programmes of work:

• Rescue, rehabilitation and rehoming;

• Mass vaccination against rabies and other diseases;

• Community Education on animal welfare and animal rights; and

• Population control through spaying and neutering campaigns.

There is no other domestic animal welfare organization in the southern or western part of Zambia, so everything ZAWS does makes a significant difference. To date, we have rescued over 1,000 dogs and cats, and vaccinated and treated more than 4,000 animals.

Rescue & rehabilitation

Currently, we have 79 dogs and 19 cats at the shelter. We take care of them and when they are healthy enough, we look for a loving forever home for them, but this is very challenging in a small town with issues of poverty and human welfare challenges.

This is Django - her owners couldn't afford to care for her any longer, so they tried to sell her to the crocodile farm as croc food. We persuaded them to hand her over to us so that we could find a forever home for her. She is such a sweet girl, full of life and love, ready to be adopted.

Community education

We visit schools and clubs with our dog ambassador, to talk about how to look after pet dogs/cats and how children can stay safe around dogs in the community. When we visit, we prepare a short presentation for the children, which includes conversations about basic animal care and safety.

The children are often hesitant but curious and willing to engage. By the end of the presentation, the kids have interacted with Seven and have a better appreciation for the dogs and cats in their community. Our goal is to reach out to as many schools and clubs as possible to increase the dog care and safety awareness in the community at large.

Community vaccination

We go to very deprived residential areas in Livingstone city and rural villages where access to veterinary services is non-existent. We offer free vaccination and treatment for dogs and cats. This is vitally important because this is the best method for prevention of rabies and other diseases, as well as parasites which affect both animals and humans (mostly children).

Spay & neutering

Population control through spaying and neutering is vital if we want to make a long-term difference. We have campaigned in various communities in Livingstone and many people are keen to have their dogs neutered however, we face huge challenges as we do not have enough veterinary resources, have limited funds to pay for vets and not enough equipment and drugs.

We have never euthanized a healthy, adoptable animal and we never will. No matter how long it takes to find a home for an animal, they will be well taken care of.

What your donations mean to us

As a non-profit organization, we always need more resources and donations because the work we do is continuous and financially demanding. The economy in Livingstone, which is a tourist town, was devastated by Covid 19, which left many pet owners unable to care for their animals. We currently really need your support to pay some bills and buy more essentials. We are a small organization with a small fundraising base, which is why we really need your help.

Make a difference: donate and share!

Follow us on Instagram @zawslivingstone and Facebook @ZAWS to see more updates on our shelter animals and our work in the communities!