02/09/2021

With this article we would like to introduce you to AISPA, the Anglo-Italian organisation that has been supporting IHP for 11 years.

The Anglo-Italian Society for the Protection of Animals is a non-profit organisation based in the UK. Every year it raises funds all over the world and uses them to finance associations dedicated to the protection of animals in Italy.

Our relationship started in 2010 when, after becoming aware of the realities faced and the unique mission of IHP in Italy, AISPA decided to fund a project for the protection of horses and other equids for the first time.

The fact that in recent years we have been able to move ahead and grow is something we owe to those who believed in us from the very first moment: to all the people who support us and to this important cooperation with AISPA, thanks to which we are able to cover part of the expenses of the Rescue Centre. Today, more than ever, their support is invaluable to us as we are facing new challenges in the defence of horses.

THE STORY OF AISPA:

In 1890, in his early twenties, like many of his fellow countrymen Leonard Hawksley embarked on a journey to Italy, still unaware of his future role as a pioneer of animal welfare in this country.

From the moment he arrived in Naples, Hawksley could not help but notice that animals were mistreated. Horses and mules were prodded relentlessly, forced by bites reinforced with nails and beaten incessantly. So it was in Naples that he decided to take the first steps in reforming the Neapolitan Society against cruelty to animals by transforming it into the Neapolitan Society for the protection of animals and taking over its leadership from 1909. In 1901 Hawksley also assumed the task of organising a group of 40 inspectors in Rome. His activism around the peninsula caused a lot of problems and cost him dearly, so much that, having challenged organised crime, he was attacked and suffered serious traumas and sadly lost the sight in one eye.

Hawksley was not just an activist. He stood out as a brilliant reformer and fought for years for the introduction of laws for the protection of animals. In 1912 he witnessed the enactment of the law that banned violent sports, and at the outbreak of the First World War he played a key role in founding the Italian Blue Cross Society and 22 veterinary hospitals, working in the field to save the lives of thousands of horses and mules.

Hawksley paid a high price for the many years of struggle and in 1931, at the age of 58, worn out by the hard work, he decided to return to England where he died in 1948. He left an important legacy in Italy:22 associations for the protection of animals founded by himself or through his valuable contribution. Over the years, in reply to those who criticised him and wondered why a foreigner was so interested in animal welfare in a country other than his own, he responded promptly: "Because animals have no nationality"

In 1952 the then Hawksley Society for the Protection of animals and birds in Italy became the Anglo-Italian Society for the Protection of Animals.

VISIT THE WEBSITE: https://aispa.org.uk/it/italian-home/