IMPACT REPORT:

Mars-HSI Global COVID Response for Companion Animals

November 2021
Washington, D.C.

Mars’ generous $1 million COVID relief grant to Humane Society InternaDonal saved thelives of thousands of companion animals and prevented thousands more from suﬀering
the pain of hunger or unmet medical needs. This report illustrates the enormous impact
Mars had around the world in 2020-21 for animals and pet owners in desperate straits.
Just one example is the story of Dolly, a sweet disabled street dog in Chandigarh, India,
who is alive today thanks to Mars’ compassion.
Before the pandemic, Panjab University was a bustling campus that dozens of local street
dogs called home. Staﬀ and students fed and cared for these community dogs but
especially adored Dolly, who had lost her two front legs in a car accident years earlier.
Dolly got around by dragging herself or, more o]en, being carried in the arms of those
who loved her.
When India went into lockdown, the campus—like everywhere—became deserted. Lyingin her usual spot at the university gate, Dolly found herself alone; no one brought her foodand no one came to pick her up. Days turned into a week, and then another. Finally, newsof the plight of the starving campus dogs reached our local HSI-India staﬀ.
Thanks to Mars’ generosity, we were able to respond immediately with a delivery of 600 kg
of dog food. We organized a daily feeding schedule, just as we were doing in ciDes all overIndia, and came each day to care for the dogs unDl students and staﬀ returned weeks later.
Today, Dolly is back at the university gate, healthy and holding court with her gang ofcanine and human friends and frequently being scooped up by someone delighted to see
her. Ever since she was saved by a local animal group a]er her car accident, Dolly has
greeted her rescuers who visit by wagging her tail furiously, as if to say thank you for giving
her a second chance at life. With its generous donaDon to Humane Society InternaDonal,
Mars gave her a third chance.
If someone from Mars were to show up at Panjab University tomorrow, I sincerely believe
Dolly would greet them the same way, bouncing and wagging her tail in thanks. We’rewagging ours, too.
In graDtude,

Dolly
Jeﬀ Flocken, President, Humane Society InternaDonalThanks to Mars, HSI was able to bring lifesaving food and care tomore than a quarter of a million animals in 36 countries.

PolandGermany
Romania
SerbiaBosniaItaly
Greece Turkey

United States
MexicoGuatemalaHonduras
El Salvador
Nicaragua
Costa Rica

Italy

MoroccoMiddle East
RegionDominican Republic
PanamaColombia
Ecuador

GuyanaLiberia

India

Nigeria
Kenya

Indonesia

Tanzania
Mozambique
Zimbabwe

Bolivia
ChileChinaNepal

India

MauritiusSouth Africa

PolandGuatemala

Colombia

Chile

South Africa

Romania2020-2021 Mars-HSI Global COVID Response

A global partnership to help companion animals impacted by the pandemic
Eighteen months ago, daily life ground to a halt as governments around theworld issued stay-at-home orders to try and stem the spread of COVID-19.

Mars made it possible for HSI and our partners to alleviate animal suﬀering on aglobal scale by systemaDcally:

At Humane Society InternaDonal, we immediately began planning ouremergency response, knowing that the consequences of the pandemic—
extended lockdowns, widespread illness, economic hardship, an abrupt halt totourism—would quickly become an existenDal threat to companion animals,
both owned and homeless, who depend on humans to survive.

Providing food and medical care to street dogs and cats who lost theirsource of food due to lockdowns, business closures and lack of tourists;and helping shelters and rescue groups struggling to cope withincreased numbers of pet surrenders and abandonments.

Into this approaching darkness, Mars appeared as a beacon of hope, asking
simply: “How can we help?”
The answer we gave was met with unsurpassed generosity. Mars’ $1
million grant to HSI ﬁnanced our deployments and partnerships in 36 countries
on ﬁve conDnents, enabling us to provide desperately needed food, medicalcare and other support to more than 280,000 animals suﬀering or at risk
because of condiDons created by the pandemic.
In India alone, we were able to bring lifesaving help to more than 43,000
individual animals and provide more than 500,000 meals to hundreds ofthousands of addiDonal hungry cats, dogs, and other animals.

SupporDng pet owners hit by ﬁnancial or health crises with pet foodand veterinary care so they could keep their companion animals rather
than surrender them to shelters or abandon them on the streets;
CorrecDng misinformaDon that falsely implicated companion animals inthe spread of COVID, and advocaDng emergency plans that factored in
the protecDon of animals.
The generosity of Mars’ gi] is a testament to its compassion for companion
animals the world over, and all those who love and protect them.
We could not be more grateful. Thank you.

Country-by-country breakdown of how Mars’ funding helped
more than 280,000 animals and provided more than 600,000 meals.
Animals
helpedCountryType of support provided with Mars’ funding

Bolivia

Support for emergency vet care for community animals and animals
surrendered in La Paz and Viacha, shelter food supplies.

1,800

Bosnia-Herzegovina

Funding for food and veterinary care at shelter and rescues as pet
surrenders increased and donaDons decreased.

250

ChileFood and veterinary care for unowned cats and dogs, especially in small
towns and ﬁshing villages with increased need and no access to care.

4,961

China

Support for abandoned animals and those targeted by inhumane staterun programs, and for pet owners in need.

852

Colombia

Support for areas aﬀected by pet abandonment and cruelty due, petowners in indigenous and hard-to-reach areas; food for street animals.

13,459

Costa Rica

Basic and emergency vet care and food for abandoned and rescued dogs
and cats; support for shelters and independent rescuers struggling toprovide food and care for increasing numbers of abandoned animals.

6,120

Dominican Republic

Veterinary services and emergency care for pet owners who lost theirincome due to COVID; food and care for street animals.

1,186

Ecuador

Veterinary services and emergency care for pet owners in rural andremote regions that depended on tourism for survival.

2,591

El Salvador

Emergency food supplies for shelters and rescuers coping with decreased
donaDons and increased abandonments.

800

Germany

Funding for several groups that shelter old, disabled or inﬁrm dogs andcats and support homeless and senior pet owners.

2,197

GreeceSupport for struggling shelters with veterinary care and food; fund projecton Crete to feed dogs and cats during crisis.

140

GuatemalaFood and veterinary supplies for a key HSI partner who handled animal
welfare cases during the pandemic; support for pet owners and unowned
animals in impoverished areas.

2,221

GuyanaHelp for one of the only shelters in Guyana; vet care to alleviate outbreaksof parvo and distemper; emergency feeding of street dogs and cats.

2,550

Honduras

Purchase of veterinary supplies for temporary vet clinics in low-income
areas, targeDng pet owners who lost their jobs due to COVID.

423

India

Provide lifesaving food and care to street animals across India gravely
aﬀected by lockdown; assist partner shelters and organizaDons to care foranimals during period of increased intake and abandonment; support
community members who feed and care for street dogs and cats. Capacity
building in West Bengal, where the pandemic highlighted a major gap in
the resources available to alleviate suﬀering in large-scale crises. Tens ofthousands of dogs and other animals were le] without food sources andcare, so funding supported a 3-year project to create the infrastructure
and provide training for emergency animal response.

43,114plus some
500,000
meals
provided toanimals

CountryType of support provided with Mars’ funding

Animals
helpedIndonesia

Food for dogs and cats living on the street.

16,000 meals

Italy

Support shelters struggling with increased intake due to pet surrenders;provide food and vet care for pets of people experiencing ﬁnancial crises.

1,200

Kenya

Fund the reopening of a vet clinic forced to close during lockdowns andvaccinaDon/vet care for pets and street animals.

918

Liberia

Vet care, pet food and volunteer costs for care of companion animals.

1,844

MauriDus

Emergency vet care and food for pet owners and street animals.

MexicoVet care and animal supplies to two HSI partner shelters.

Middle East Region

Care for animals abandoned on the streets and support for pet owners.

3,133

MoroccoCare and feeding of street dogs and cats impacted by lockdown.

4,663

Mozambique

Veterinary care and assistance for abandoned pets, vet care for street
animals.

NepalFeeding as many as 50% of Kathmandu’s street dogs.

Nicaragua

Veterinary services for pet owners facing ﬁnancial hardship, feeding street
dogs and cats.

Nigeria

Food and vet care for owned animals, to keep pets in their homes.

5,000PanamaLow-cost vet care for pets, to keep companion animals in their homes.

2,530

PolandFeeding dozens of street dogs and hundreds of cats in four ciDes; support
for a rescue group caring for and seeking adopDve homes for cats.

510

Romania

Support for several vet clinics that provide free or low-cost services to petowners and shelters; support for rescues and shelters dealing withsigniﬁcantly higher intake levels and reduced donaDons.

2,765 + 1,200
pets helped
per month

SerbiaSupport for pets of home-bound pensioners; care and feeding of several
community cat colonies.

850

South Africa

Assistance for HSI parter organizaDon to build 40 kennels to shelter
abandoned animals; pet supplies and food for pet owners in need.

375+ 566 relief
packages

Tanzania

Food, vaccinaDons and medical care to injured pets and street dogs andcats.

2,742 +
600kg food
distributedTurkey

Vet care and food to support inﬂux of abandoned animals at shelters.

1,465

United States

Financial support for shelters/rescues/groups providing pet food and lowcost vet care in communiDes hard hit by COVID; expanded HSUS pet
support programs in underserved ciDes and rural and remote areas.

50,000Zimbabwe

Vet care and food for owned and unowned companion animals.

4,123

85,615 meals
500

850

13,050515

On behalf of everyone at Humane
Society International, our partners inanimal protection around the world, andthe hundreds of thousands ofcompanion animals who were fed,
treated or saved because of yourgenerosity and compassion:

Thank you, Mars!