If you live in the UK and care about animals, you have a lot of choice. Britain is home to some of the oldest and best-resourced animal welfare charities in the world, and each one has its own focus. This guide explains who the biggest UK animal charities are, what each one is known for, and how to support them directly. We have included every charity's own website link so you can give to them in one click. At the end, we explain where World Animal Rescue Network fits in — and, honestly, where you might want to give to one of the others instead.
This page is meant to be useful, not partisan. We genuinely admire the work of every organisation listed below.
1. RSPCA — the original, and the broadest
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is the world's oldest animal welfare charity, founded in 1824. It covers every species — companion animals, farm animals, wildlife and exotics — and is the only UK animal charity with a recognised role in cruelty investigation in England and Wales. The RSPCA runs rescue centres, prosecutes cruelty cases under the Animal Welfare Act, campaigns on welfare law, and rehomes thousands of animals every year.
Founded: 1824 · Focus: All species, all welfare · Coverage: England and Wales
2. Dogs Trust — the UK's largest dog welfare charity
Dogs Trust (originally founded in 1891 as the National Canine Defence League and renamed in 2003) is the UK's largest dog welfare charity. It runs a national network of rehoming centres, supports dog owners through training and behaviour resources, and operates a long-standing no-destruction policy for healthy dogs in its care. If your interest is specifically dogs — UK rehoming, training, or owner support — this is the heavyweight.
Founded: 1891 · Focus: Dogs only · Coverage: UK-wide rehoming network
3. Battersea — dogs and cats, since 1860
Battersea Dogs & Cats Home is one of the most recognised animal welfare brands in the country and one of the oldest, founded in 1860. It rehomes both dogs and cats from three centres in London, Old Windsor and Brands Hatch. Battersea is known for taking in animals other rescues cannot — including dogs with complex behaviour needs — and for its 24-hour intake policy.
Founded: 1860 · Focus: Dogs and cats · Coverage: London and South-East England
4. Cats Protection — the UK's biggest cat charity
Cats Protection (founded 1927) is the UK's largest cat-only welfare charity, with a national branch and adoption-centre network largely run by volunteers. It rehomes cats, neuters strays and ferals through subsidised schemes, and provides community-level cat care for owners struggling with vet bills or housing changes. If your sympathies are with cats specifically, this is the obvious choice.
Founded: 1927 · Focus: Cats only · Coverage: UK-wide volunteer branch network
5. Blue Cross — pet welfare and pet bereavement
Blue Cross (founded 1897) is a UK pet welfare charity that operates rehoming centres, runs low-cost veterinary clinics for pets of owners on means-tested benefits, and provides one of the UK's best-known pet bereavement support services. Blue Cross is a good choice if you want a charity that supports pets and the humans who love them through hard moments.
Founded: 1897 · Focus: Pet welfare, vet care, bereavement support · Coverage: UK-wide
6. PDSA — vet care for pets in need
The People's Dispensary for Sick Animals (founded 1917) is a veterinary charity. Where other charities focus on rehoming or campaigning, PDSA focuses on keeping pets in homes by making veterinary treatment affordable for owners on certain means-tested benefits. PDSA Pet Hospitals operate across the UK and are one of the country's largest providers of subsidised veterinary care.
Founded: 1917 · Focus: Subsidised vet care for pets of owners on means-tested benefits · Coverage: UK-wide Pet Hospital network
7. The Donkey Sanctuary — donkeys worldwide
The Donkey Sanctuary (founded 1969) is a UK-registered charity that has grown into one of the largest equine welfare organisations in the world. It rescues and cares for donkeys in the UK and Ireland, and runs welfare and veterinary programmes for working donkeys in some of the lowest-income countries on earth. If donkeys move you, no charity is more focused.
Founded: 1969 · Focus: Donkeys, UK and worldwide · Coverage: Global, with UK sanctuaries
Donate to The Donkey Sanctuary →
8. Brooke — for working horses, donkeys and mules
Brooke (founded 1934) is a UK-registered international charity dedicated to the welfare of working equines — horses, donkeys and mules that pull carts, carry water and support entire family economies across Africa, Asia and Latin America. Brooke runs mobile veterinary clinics, trains community animal health workers, and works on equine welfare policy across multiple countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Founded: 1934 · Focus: Working horses, donkeys and mules · Coverage: International
9. Wood Green — the animals charity
Wood Green (founded 1924) is a UK pet welfare and rehoming charity based in Cambridgeshire. It rehomes dogs, cats, rabbits and small pets, and provides outreach and community support to pet owners facing financial or housing difficulty so that animals are not surrendered unnecessarily. It is known for a strong emphasis on keeping pets with their families wherever possible.
Founded: 1924 · Focus: Pet rehoming and community pet support · Coverage: UK, primarily East of England
10. Mayhew — London-based animal welfare
Mayhew (founded 1886) is a London-based animal welfare charity that rehomes dogs and cats, runs subsidised veterinary care and community programmes in London, and supports overseas animal welfare projects in countries including Afghanistan and Georgia. It is one of the smaller charities on this list, with a focused community footprint.
Founded: 1886 · Focus: Dog and cat rehoming, community welfare, some international projects · Coverage: London + selected overseas projects
UK animal charities: frequently asked comparisons
What is the difference between Dogs Trust and the RSPCA?
Dogs Trust is a dogs-only charity, founded in 1891, focused on rehoming, training and behavioural support, with a long-standing no-destruction policy for healthy dogs in its care. The RSPCA, founded in 1824, is a multi-species charity covering all domestic and many wild animals — and is the only UK animal charity with a recognised role in cruelty investigation in England and Wales. They are complementary: Dogs Trust focuses deeply on one species; the RSPCA covers the whole welfare landscape.
What is the difference between Battersea and Dogs Trust?
Battersea (founded 1860) takes in both dogs and cats and operates three centres in London and the South-East. Dogs Trust (founded 1891) is a dogs-only charity with a much larger UK rehoming network. If you specifically want to support dog rehoming at the largest UK scale, Dogs Trust is the bigger network; if you want to support a dog-and-cat home with a strong London identity, Battersea is the established choice.
What is the difference between the RSPCA and PDSA?
The RSPCA focuses on animal welfare across all species, cruelty investigation and rehoming. PDSA (the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals, founded 1917) is a veterinary charity that provides affordable veterinary care to pets of owners on means-tested benefits. The two charities do not compete — they cover different parts of animal welfare and are often used by the same families.
What is the difference between Cats Protection and Blue Cross?
Cats Protection is a cat-only charity (founded 1927) with a UK-wide volunteer branch network and a strong focus on neutering and feral cat welfare. Blue Cross (founded 1897) is a multi-pet charity covering dogs, cats, horses and small pets, with rehoming centres, low-cost vet clinics and a well-established pet bereavement support service. Cats Protection is the deeper option for cats; Blue Cross is broader and includes bereavement support.
Which UK animal charity helps animals abroad?
Most UK animal charities focus on the UK. The exceptions on this list are Brooke (working equines internationally), The Donkey Sanctuary (donkeys worldwide), and Mayhew (selected overseas projects). World Animal Rescue Network is a UK-registered launch-stage charity focused specifically on international field rescue — the gap between UK rehoming and large international policy organisations.
Which UK animal charity should I donate to?
It depends on what kind of animal welfare matters most to you. For UK dog rehoming, Dogs Trust, Battersea, Wood Green and Mayhew. For UK cat rehoming, Cats Protection and Battersea. For subsidised veterinary care, PDSA and Blue Cross. For cruelty investigation and broad welfare, the RSPCA. For working horses, donkeys and mules, Brooke. For donkeys specifically, The Donkey Sanctuary. For international field rescue in regions with no UK-style rehoming infrastructure, World Animal Rescue Network. The best answer is often: pick one for the UK and one for international.
Where World Animal Rescue Network fits in
WARN is a UK-registered launch-stage animal charity, currently building country programmes for 2026. We do not rehome dogs or cats in the UK — the charities above already do that, and they do it well. What WARN exists for is the gap they cannot reach: street dogs in cities like Karachi where there is almost no rescue capacity, orangutans trapped in active palm-oil concessions in Indonesia, parrots and primates confiscated from the international pet trade in South America, snared elephants and wild dogs in East African conservancies, working equines in cull zones — animals for whom the UK rehoming model simply does not apply because they are too far away, too wild, or too numerous.
If you already give to one of the UK charities above, we are genuinely glad. If you would like to add international field rescue to your giving — small monthly amounts make a real difference at our stage — please consider supporting WARN as well.
Help launch international field rescue
World Animal Rescue Network is at the launch stage. We are not asking you to leave the UK charity you already love — we are asking you to help open up a new front for animals that no UK rehoming charity can reach. Donate to WARN today to back our first deployments in Pakistan, Indonesia, Peru and East Africa, or sponsor an animal through rehabilitation.
