Long known as the patron saint of animals, comedian Ricky Gervais has donated £1.91m to 11 animal charities.
Gervais just finished his latest stand-up tour Armageddon, which has netted £26.4m. His gig at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, in May, alone took £1.4m – enough to get Gervais into the Guinness Book of World Records as the highest gross taking for a single stand-up performance. He raised the money for animal charities by selling platinum tickets for the tour.
Armageddon has also been filmed for Netflix and will be shown from 25 December.
Gervais donated £1.9m of the Armageddon proceeds to charities around the world. In England, London-based All Dogs Matter, which starred in issue 1 of Wunderdog, Catastrophes Cat Rescue in East Sussex and Dogs On The Streets, which helps the dogs of homeless people in London, have each received a share of the donation pot.
Another recipient close to Gervais’ home is Chaldon Animal Sanctuary, a permanent home for cats and dogs with behavioural problems based in Surrey. Also in Surrey, Helping Rhinos received part of the donations. The non-profit funds rhino conversation and protection programmes mainly in Africa.
Cornwall-based Wild Futures also received a share of the donation. The 50-year-old organisation protects primates in the wild and rescued monkeys that have been victims of the pet trade or animal testing.
Among the donation recipients is Paws2Rescue, which is also based in England and helps dogs in Romania through spay-and-neuter campaigns, improving conditions for dogs, and by placing vulnerable stray dogs in foster ahead of their adoption. Paws2Rescue’s founder Alison Standbridge features twice in issue 8 of Wunderdog. She briefed the European Parliament on the stray-dog situation in Romania and has worked with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to improve the import of dogs from Europe into the UK.
PDSA, the national charity that offers low-cost vet care for people who would otherwise not be able to afford treatments, is also among the recipients.
In Europe, Romania’s oldest animal protection association Millions of Friends also made Gervais’ donations list. Millions of Friends helps not just stray dogs, it also runs the world’s largest bear sanctuary.
Further afield, Gervais has donated to Animal SOS Sri Lanka, which cares for stray dogs, especially paralysed dogs that were hit by cars. (Wunderdog featured the charity in issue 1.)
Last but not least, Mira is another recipient of Gervais’ generosity. The Canadian non-profit organisation trains guide dogs and service dogs for people living with visual impairments and physical disabilities and for young people with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Gervais regularly raises awareness for animal rights and campaign groups around the world. He speaks out for Pet Theft Reform and to end animal testing, among other causes, and he speaks up against trophy and fox hunting.
Together with his long-time partner, best-selling novelist Jane Fallon, he loves visiting Hampstead Heath and Central Park to meet dogs. Due to their extensive travelling schedule, the couple opted not to have a dog but have adopted a cat, Pickle, instead.
