/Wild Animal Welfare Charity Celebrates Major Award for E-Learning Innovation
– Wild Welfare wins the ‘Technology for Good’ prize at the National Charity Today Awards 2026.
– The award recognizes the charity’s interactive e-learning platform, ‘Wild About Welfare’.
– Over 36,500 users globally have accessed animal welfare education through the platform since its launch in 2021.
– The charity emphasizes collaboration with the University of Edinburgh’s Animal Welfare Center for the program’s success.
– Funding opportunities are available for those interested in supporting the program’s expansion.
Wild Animal Welfare charity, Wild Welfare, announced a significant achievement, having won the prestigious ‘Technology for Good’ prize at the National Charity Today Awards 2026. The award acknowledges the charity’s innovative interactive e-learning platform, ‘Wild About Welfare’, designed to provide accessible online animal welfare education to caregivers around the world in six different languages.
A team from Wild Welfare attended the awards ceremony in Peterborough, celebrating alongside various other inspirational charities, non-profits, and fundraisers from across the UK. The National Charity Today Awards honor excellence within the charitable sector, focusing on achievements, innovation, and impact. The ‘Technology for Good’ category, sponsored by iplicit, recognizes charities employing digital tools to foster positive change and increase access to essential services.
For countless animal care staff in zoos, aquariums, and sanctuaries globally, obtaining formal training and educational resources in animal welfare has been challenging due to geographical, financial, and language barriers. ‘Wild About Welfare’ directly addresses this challenge by offering a flexible, interactive digital learning program accessible on both desktop and mobile devices.
This e-learning platform breaks down fundamental animal welfare concepts into engaging, digestible modules, covering critical topics such as animal behaviour, nutrition, and environmental needs. Its goal is to empower caregivers, students, veterinarians, and facility managers with the practical knowledge and confidence necessary to maintain high standards of care and welfare. Since its launch in 2021, the program has already reached more than 36,500 users worldwide.
Wild Welfare proudly shares the award with the Animal Welfare Center at the University of Edinburgh’s Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, whose partnership has been essential to the platform’s success. “The expert guidance, pedagogical knowledge and technical input from the Animal Welfare Center in Edinburgh have been instrumental in shaping, refining and delivering this vital resource,” said Sarah Bonser-Blake, lead developer of the e-learning program.
Director Simon Marsh emphasized the importance of collaboration: “Working alongside world-leading researchers and educators ensures our learning materials remain scientifically robust, practical, applicable, and globally relevant. Ensuring that appropriate knowledge reaches the animal care teams is vital so the lives of the animals under their care are improved every day.”
Louise Connelly, Senior Lecturer at the Animal Welfare Centre, highlighted the real-world impact of the collaboration: “The collaboration with Wild Welfare has enabled real-world impact – improving the lives of animals through education. We look forward to developing the programme further in the future.”
This award serves as a testament to the capacity of technology to enhance the welfare of wild animals in human care. As Wild Welfare progresses with plans to expand the ‘Wild About Welfare’ program with additional language translations, they remain committed to making science-led welfare education accessible globally. This initiative has been facilitated by generous contributions from various funders, including Mandai Nature and The Silent Foundation.
Wild Welfare is actively seeking individuals or organizations interested in funding the expansion of this award-winning program. For more information, visit WildWelfare.org.
