About Us
For more than a decade, the Australian Pet Welfare Foundation (APWF) has developed and shared lifesaving knowledge and advocated for changes to policy and practice that improve the health and wellbeing of pets and people.
By introducing evidence-based, best-practice solutions, we are shifting the needle on pound and shelter intake and their animal management strategies, and encouraging moves away from enforcement and towards assistance, to help keep pets with loving owners.
Our holistic approach to stray cat management is indicative of our vision; challenging perceptions, leading trials to identify more effective solutions and giving pet lovers the support they need to care for animals in their community.
From community interventions designed to reduce the breeding of unwanted pets and prevent the loss of wanted pets, through to lobbying for affordable veterinary care and couraging shelters and pounds to disclose euthanasia rates, we’re committed to building a happier, healthier and safer world for pets, people and their environments.
Meaningful impact
We’re here to make the world better
Trusted information
We’re independent and evidence-based
Productive collaboration
We strengthen relationships to benefit us all
The Australian Pet Welfare Foundation (APWF) was founded by Jacquie Rand, Professor Emeritus of Companion Animal Health, after more than twenty years researching ways to make life better for the animals we love.
Driven by the need to find life-saving strategies for the many thousands of healthy and treatable animals being euthanised in shelters and pounds each year, Jacquie and the charity’s founding members drew on the power of research and advocacy to improve outcomes for not only animals, but humans and the world we live in.
Today, APWF is creating a significant cultural shift in how animals are treated and the importance of pets to the wellbeing of people and the environments within which we live. In developing evidence-based interventions to prevent unwanted births and end unnecessary deaths, reduce surrenders and support pet ownership, the Foundation is working to ensure that companion animals have a voice, a home and can live the life they deserve.
Profound respect for animal life
The value of the human-animal bond in enriching lives
Evidence-based decision-making
The power of collaborative change
At the Australian Pet Welfare Foundation, we believe in a world where pets, people, and their environments all thrive.
Our 2024–2029 Strategic Plan lays out a clear roadmap for achieving this vision - through collaborative programs, research, and advocacy that drive meaningful, evidence-based change.
Explore how we’re working to:
Keep pets and people together
Get to zero euthanasia of healthy, treatable animals
Make vet care more affordable and accessible
Champion pet-friendly housing and better animal management laws
