World Rabies Day: Charity puts out call for volunteers who want to help make rabies history

UK based veterinary charity Worldwide Veterinary Service (WVS) is calling for volunteers to take part in their Mission Rabies project, by joining their canine vaccination drives around the world.

Every year on the 28th of September, World Rabies Day aims to raise awareness of rabies and advocate for the global elimination of the disease. The date honours Louis Pasteur, who produced the first anti-rabies vaccine in 1885. Despite an effective vaccine being developed 140 years ago, rabies still causes suffering and death for both people and animals in most of the world. Each year over 59,000 people die from rabies, children under 15 years of age are particularly vulnerable, accounting for forty percent of global deaths. According to World Health Organisation, over 99 percent of all human rabies cases are transmitted via dog bites.

The Mission Rabies project delivers mass dog vaccination campaigns and community education programmes in the world’s worst rabies affected areas, working to stop people and animals dying from this preventable disease. Over five million dogs have been vaccinated and over twelve million children have been educated worldwide since Mission Rabies began in 2013.

Founder and Chief Executive of WVS and Mission Rabies, Dr Luke Gamble, shares why volunteering is so important. ‘Our projects wouldn’t be possible without the incredible support of volunteers from around the world. These inspiring people, from all walks of life, give up their time to do something amazing, and it really does save lives.

We need volunteers now more than ever, with projects expanding on all fronts. We need the people who care about this to come together, get on the ground and get it done, and that is how we are going to beat rabies’.

In 2024 147 volunteers joined Mission Rabies on projects around the world including Tanzania, Cambodia, India, Uganda and Mozambique. The 2024 vaccination drive in Cambodia was Asia’s largest rabies vaccination campaign to date, and the team are returning for 2025 this October.

‘So few events can truly change your life. For me, serving on the recent Mission Rabies campaign in Cambodia, is one of them.’ Brad Coull, Mission Rabies volunteer, Cambodia 2025

‘I’m incredibly grateful to Mission Rabies for creating such impactful programmes and allowing us to be a part of them. It was a life-changing experience, and I’d encourage anyone with a passion for animal welfare to get involved.’ Neringa Grabaziute, Mission Rabies volunteer, Uganda 2024.

‘I have learnt a lot, and I feel like I am also growing as a vet, experiencing and seeing all these people in different areas makes we want to work harder and be a part of this change, rabies and WVS is doing.’Lucy, Mission Rabies volunteer in Malawi 2025.

There is something poignant about being part of something that can make a life-or-death difference to dogs, and subsequently humans. And yet, slightly bananas.’ Liz Seaman, Mission Rabies volunteer, Mumbai 2024.

Now Mission Rabies is looking for volunteers to join projects happening in late 2025 and early 2026, including three projects in India; Kerela, Mumbai and Goa. There are Mission Rabies volunteering opportunities open to everyone - vets, vet nurses, vet students or just anyone who wants to make a difference.

Further information on Mission Rabies and how to get involved can be found at missionrabies.com/volunteer

Mission Rabies is a project of Worldwide Veterinary Service (WVS) is an international veterinary charity based in Cranborne in Dorset. Founded by veterinarian Dr Luke Gamble in 2003, the charity provides veterinary support to animals in need and acts as a central veterinary resource for animal charities and non-profit organisations around the world. In 2013, WVS launched the Mission Rabies project to eliminate canine-mediated human rabies deaths. Following World Health Organization guidelines, Mission Rabies runs mass canine vaccination and community education in the world’s worst hotspots for the disease. Mission Rabies currently delivers campaigns in Malawi, India, Sri Lanka, Zambia, Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana, Mozambique, Cambodia, and Thailand. Over five million dogs have been vaccinated and over twelve million children have been educated worldwide since Mission Rabies began. For more information, please visit missionrabies.com