World Animal Day festival takes place at Cape Town’s Sea Point Promenade

Cape Town’s Sea Point Promenade comes alive today as pet owners and animal lovers gather for a free World Animal Day festival from 9am to 3pm.

The event brings together over 20 animal welfare groups, veterinary experts, and local families for rescue dog shows, live parades, and essential pet-care advice.

Organised by non-profit Paws-A-While and sponsored by Mars Petcare, the event will feature advice on adoption, vaccination, preventative healthcare, and responsible pet ownership.

Paws-A-While founder Carolyn Dudgeon said the celebration would recognise the volunteers and welfare organisations that support animals, often with limited resources.

“As the event grows, we can bring more people into those conversations and introduce them to the organisations doing the work every day,” she said.

The programme will include a 10-category Rescue Dog Show and the Paws-A-While Rescue Organisation Parade, in which welfare groups will march under their banners and compete for awards for creativity.

Dr Amir Anwary, also known as Amir the Vet and co-founder of Vets2Pets, will share advice on routine veterinary care and responsible pet ownership.

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New pet ownership data

Adding a major policy dimension to the event, representatives from Statistics South Africa will take to the stage to present the crowd with the country’s first national data on pet ownership from the 2025 General Household Survey.

Event organisers highlighted this as a landmark moment for animal welfare. By finally having accurate baseline figures, authorities can move beyond guesswork to vastly improve regional planning for veterinary care, rabies prevention, and large-scale sterilisation drives.

The survey reveals that 23.5% of South African households own a pet, representing an estimated 7.4 million dogs and 2 million cats nationwide.

Dudgeon said the event aimed to turn public enthusiasm for animals into practical action.

“There is enormous love for animals in Cape Town, but love has to translate into responsible action,” she said.

“World Animal Day gives us a chance to put adoption alongside education, sterilisation, preventative healthcare, and responsible ownership, because these issues are connected.”