Comedian Ricky Gervais has donated almost £2.5 million to a group of animal charities.
The money came from profits made by platinum seating during his Mortality tour, which ran from 2024 to 2025.
The 64-year-old has given 22 charities £2.43 million, including the PDSA, International Animal Rescue, Celia Hammond Animal Trust, and Animals Asia.
Mr Gervais said: "My mum always used to say 'you can't take it with you', no I can't mum.
Mr Gervais also made a post on X, where he said: "To celebrate my Mortality Tour, my Netflix Special, my Golden Globes nomination, and the spirit of Christmas, I am donating £2.43 million to animals.
"These are the lovely charities I've chosen.
"Merry Christmas critters."
With his Mortality Tour donations, Gervais has donated more than £5 million to animal charities from his four recent special tours.
This includes a £1.9 million donation from his Armageddon tour, which won a Golden Globe.
Other charities receiving funds from Gervais include Libearty Sanctuary, Pangea, Wild Futures, All Dogs Matter, Dogs On The Streets, Paws2Rescue, Edinburgh Dog And Cat Home, Saving Strays, Chaldon Animal Sanctuary, Turgwe Hippo Trust, Safe Haven For Donkeys, and Catastrophes Cat Rescue.
Karen travels to Ukrainian cities to rescue dogs: 'You come all the way here for the animals?'
On her way to the dog shelter adopted by her foundation in bombed-out Dnipro, Karen Soeters stops in a parking lot. A Ukrainian woman nearly bursts into tears when she hears why the Dutch are there. "You're coming all the way here for the animals?" A hug follows. On Tuesday, House of Animals will open a "Christmas Village": one hundred insulated wooden houses where displaced animals can survive the winter.
Together with emergency aid coordinator Helma van de Vondevoort and filmmaker Sanne Vermaas, the founder of House of Animals is once again traveling to war zones. In cities like Dnipro, Mykolaiv, and Zaporizhia, Soeters is assessing the most urgently needed emergency aid for four-legged war victims. She is in daily contact with local animal rights activists about how the donations will be spent.
She knows things are not going well, but what she finds is shocking: many animals have been killed, abandoned, or are wandering. Dogs are startled by every loud noise, traumatized by impacts from Russian missiles and drones.
"That's so incredibly sad," says Soeters from the car. "Our people have horses that have been rescued from the line of fire and are barely horses anymore. When you look into their eyes, you see nothing but fear."
A hospital for Lucy
That's why House of Animals built an emergency hospital in 2024 with Dutch and Flemish support. A crisis kitchen and a dog village will open there on Tuesday. The latter consists of wooden houses furnished with hay and a blanket.
Key to Soeters' work with displaced animals in Ukraine was the story of Lucy, a German Shepherd injured in an explosion. Lucy appeared to recover but died due to lack of hygiene and medical care in an overcrowded shelter. To prevent this, House of Animals opened Lucy's emergency hospital in Dnipro, complete with an operating room and fifteen beds. Local veterinarians can operate and neuter animals there.
Two thousand animals in one shelter
Ukrainian shelters are completely full. Before the war, the Pegasus shelter, supported by House of Animals, housed five hundred animals; now there are two thousand. Dogs, cats, horses, pigs, and even a camel.
As the front line draws ever closer, Ukrainian soldiers are also regularly bringing in wounded animals. The shelter staff are becoming exhausted, says Soeters. They stay with their animals and often sleep in bathrooms with their families at home because there are no bomb shelters.
Animal food is hard to come by. Dog food is barely being delivered anymore, as supplies are depleted by the war. Therefore, House of Animals has set up a crisis kitchen where the remaining kibble is mixed with muesli and grains to make a porridge.
In Zaporizhia, Soeters met Angel, a woman who cared for all the pets abandoned in an apartment building from which the residents had fled. "It's wartime; you can't take everything with you," Soeters says sympathetically. "Many residents thought they had to leave temporarily and often left food and water behind. But they never came back. We're helping her too."
In Kramatorsk, the dog Monika was found next to her dead puppies, with mud in her stomach. She recovered in the emergency hospital.
For dogs like Monika, House of Animals is opening a Christmas village on Tuesday. A drop in the bucket, but still: a hundred insulated wooden houses filled with straw and blankets. "It's a safe place where animals can survive the coming winter," says Soeters.
They found Monica lying next to het dead puppies. She had eaten mus to keep her babies alive......unfortunately it was not to be.
Despite sleepless nights in bomb shelters, she keeps returning. Even now, things are tense again, and the team has received training on how to respond to Russian drone attacks. "Every time I've been there, I think: it can't get any worse. And then I come back and think: it can definitely get worse. I just want to hold on to hope that it will stop eventually. I don't actually want to say I'm hopeless. But I also see Christmas trees everywhere, Christmas decorations everywhere. It's like: we're not going to let this get us down, this is our country, we're going for it."
Soeters has often said that a society's treatment of animals reflects its civility. The more than two million euros in emergency aid she has raised from the Netherlands and Belgium, she says, demonstrates that many people here share this sentiment.
War in Ukraine hits animals hard
We don't know exactly how many animals were killed in the war in Ukraine. The figures we do have indicate that it's in the millions. Millions of chickens and tens of thousands of cows and pigs alone have perished. Hundreds of thousands of animals died last winter at large chicken farms that lost power and feed.
Before the war, there were millions of cats and dogs. Many animals fled with their owners, but many others were abandoned, died, or became strays. The total number is unknown.
Many wild animals in Ukraine are dying from bombs, fires, pollution, and natural disasters. Thousands of dead dolphins, for example, have been found. Natural areas have also been severely damaged.
Animals are also psychologically damaged. They panic at sirens and bombs, and some die from sheer fright.
Organizations like the Dutch House of Animals try to help local organizations in various ways, but the almost daily danger of Russian bombing makes that work difficult.
At the bottom of this article please sighn the petition
Photos By: Dog Meat-Free Indonesia Coalition Members: Humane Society International, Change For Animals Foundation, Jakarta Animal Aid Network, and Animal Friends Jogja
UPDATE! Jakarta has officially banned the dog and cat meat trade, marking a major step forward for animal welfare and public health. The new Gubernatorial Regulation No. 36/2025, which took effect on November 24, 2025, makes it illegal to trade, sell, slaughter, or consume dogs, cats, and several other species of animals that could transmit rabies. The ban applies to live animals as well as raw and processed meat.
The historic move goes far beyond the 2023 directive, which was only a non-binding appeal for voluntary cooperation. That earlier measure signaled the city’s stance against the trade but lacked the legal authority needed to enforce penalties or shut down operations.
Under the new regulation, authorities now have full enforcement power. Violators can face written warnings, confiscation of animals, and even the closure or loss of business licenses for repeat offenses. These measures give Jakarta meaningful tools to dismantle the dog and cat meat industry.
Animal welfare groups have welcomed this historic decision, calling it a long-awaited milestone. With this legally binding ban in place, Jakarta has taken a decisive step toward ending the barbaric cruelty and health risks linked to the dog and cat meat trade.
“This is a historic step for Indonesia,” said Karin Franken, National Director of Dog Meat Free Indonesia. “Jakarta has demonstrated moral leadership and a courageous commitment to protecting animals and communities. We hope this sets a standard for all other regions across the country.”
“Jakarta has opened the path,” continued Franken. “This is a defining moment for a healthier, more humane Indonesia. We encourage every region to follow this bold example and help end the dog and cat meat trade nationwide.”
Jakarta now becomes the 21st jurisdiction in Indonesia to ban the brutal trade. The move comes in response to an intensive campaign by DMFI, exposing the severe animal cruelty and risks to human health from zoonotic diseases such as rabies.
“This is truly a historic and watershed moment in the movement towards ending the dog and cat meat trade, with the capital of Indonesia introducing a ban on this cruel trade. FOUR PAWS has campaigned on this issue for years and currently has a petition with nearly two million signatures worldwide,” Josef Pfabigan, CEO of FOUR PAWS, said in a statement.
“While this is a huge success, we cannot rest on our laurels, more needs to be done at the higher levels of government, as the dog and cat meat trade still results in horrific cruelty to an estimated 30 million animalsper year in Asia, including an estimated 10 million dogs in Southeast Asia alone,” Pfabigan concluded.
It is estimated that only about 4.5% of Indonesia’s 270 million people have ever consumed dog meat. A nationwide opinion poll conducted by Nielsen in 2021 and commissioned by DMFI revealed that 93% of all Indonesians support a national ban.
“Thank you Governor Heru for your leadership in taking this brave and tremendously powerful step to ban the cruel, dangerous, and illegal dog meat trade in Jakarta. Your actions send a very clear message – dogs are not food,” stated Basinger. “These laws to prohibit dog meat will have far reaching impacts protecting both animals and people. Dogs are a true gift to all of us on this planet. They are our companions who serve mankind loyally. They must be protected from the abusive and unimaginably cruel dog meat trade.”
Ricky Gervais echoed Basinger’s statement saying, “The message is clear, dogs are not food.”
“Jakarta’s ban sets a clear example for other jurisdictions to follow that the dog and cat meat trade is intolerably cruel and dangerous and will help raise public awareness about the serious dangers and animal suffering inherent in this trade,” shared Karin Franken, national coordinator of the Dog Meat Free Indonesia coalition.
Globally, intolerance of animal cruelty and concern for human health is seeing an ever-growing number of countries, territories, provinces, regencies, and cities passing explicit laws prohibiting the trade in, slaughtering, and consumption of dogs and cats.
Help to end the barbaric dog and cat meat trade completely in Southeast Asia by signing the FOUR PAWSpetition, HERE!
In twenty years, we’ve helped spare 169 million hens from cages—and that’s just in the US. Globally, we’ve protected millions more. Now, let’s finish what we started—and ensure every cage, everywhere, stands empty.
As The Humane League marked two decades of work dismantling factory farming this year, we asked ourselves a question: How should we celebrate this milestone? We decided to celebrate you all
During these past 20 years, you and so many like minded people have shown that even the most entrenched systems of cruelty can collapse when people refuse to look away. You've been part of a grassroots movement with global reach, forcing some of the world's largest corporations to answer for animal abuse. You’ve raised your voice on behalf of the most vulnerable—and changed the lives of millions.
As the sun sets on these last two decades, it’s rising on a world where animals are no longer invisible. Thank you for refusing to let them be forgotten.
"2025 is the most pivotal year yet for the shift to cage-free eggs, and consumers are watching closely to see which companies follow through," said Liz Fergus, Corporate Relations Manager, The Humane League. "Despite bird flu and supply chain fluctuations, leading companies have proven that cage-free is not only possible—it's already happening among responsible companies."
The report examines industry challenges, including the impact of avian flu on egg supply and prices, sharing insights from animal welfare scientists and corporate relations experts. Despite these impacts, egg producers continue to shift away from cages and food companies report transparent progress on their cage-free goals:
Egg producers expect a stable cage-free egg supply through 2026, showing no excuse for companies backtracking.
According to the USDA (3/21/25), 74% of birds (22,381,620) lost to avian flu this year were kept in cages—causing shortages of conventional eggs while the costs of cage-free eggs remain stable in many states.
Olive Garden (100% cage-free in the U.S. since 2018)
First Watch (100% cage-free in the U.S. since 2023)
The report exposes the following laggards for not reporting progress or committing to removecages from egg supply chains, leaving consumers questioning their trustworthiness:
Photos: CAS International / AnimaNaturalis / Aitor Garmendia
CAS-International films fire bull Toro Jubilo in Medinaceli, Spain (November 2025)
This year the event was held despite ongoing legal proceedings and health restrictions due to the outbreak of a livestock disease in the region.
Toro Jubilo
Toro Jubilo is a medieval festival in Medinaceli (province of Soria, region of Castile and León). During the event, a bull's horns are tied to metal frames to which burning logs are attached. These logs are often made of wool or rope soaked in tar. The bull is then released into the town square with the burning logs attached to its horns. The animal, panicking, tries to extinguish the flames.
This year, we once again documented the bull showing clear signs of fear and stress. These images serve as documentation of the extreme animal suffering during Toro Jubilo. We will therefore use them as evidence in ongoing legal proceedings.
The moment the fire is lit (November 2025)
The Castile-León authorities had extended a ban on livestock markets due to health risks.
An outbreak of dermatitis nodularis contagiosa (Nodules Contagious Dermatitis)
is occurring in the region. This viral disease affects cattle and is characterized by painful,
lumpy swellings on the skin. However, an exception was made for Toro Jubilo, on the pretext that
all the bulls came from the same farm and were returned afterward
without being mixed with other livestock. This exception was granted due to a ruling by the
regional Supreme Court. CAS and AnimaNaturalis believe that holding the event posed serious health
risks.
Other legal proceedings initiated by the Spanish animal rights group PACMA are also ongoing . According to an earlier ruling by the court in Soria, the local ordinance allowing the Toro Jubilo was unlawful. The court ruled that this ordinance violated the recognition that animals are sentient beings and must therefore be protected from unnecessary suffering. However,
the Supreme Court of Castile and León overturned this ruling. PACMA is not letting this rest and has filed a motion to have the case recused.
The fire bull is completely exhausted at the end of the event
Our director Maite van Gerwen spoke to German journalist Rebecca Hillauer about Toro Jubilo.
Did you know that your tax money is being used, through European agricultural subsidies, to breed cattle for bullfights and cruel folk festivals in Spain, France, and Portugal? This also applies to the fire bull of Medinaceli.
It's estimated to cost €200 million annually. We believe this must stop. That's why, at CAS International, with the support of the animal welfare organizations AnimaNaturalis (Spain) and ANIMAL (Portugal), we've launched a petition aimed at ending European agricultural subsidies for bull breeders. Sign our petition here !
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