Caring for animals and environment in Pakistan

"Interspecies Justice is basically an idea, where humans, animals and the environment can live together. The intersection is actually true for all three, because you have to create systems
where you're generating kindness and some kind of resources
for all parties." - Altamush Saeed

Altamush Saeed is an award-winning Pakistani Interspecies Justice lawyer, animal protection activist, philanthropist & professor. From volunteering with the Humane Society of United States in Oregon and testifying at the Oregon Legislative Assembly, to starting the first animal welfare law practice in Pakistan, to building the first plant-based school for youth in a disaster zone, to teaching the Animal Law Advocacy Course at the University of Central Punjab Pakistan—Altamush is a doer who is leading the charge to spark the animal welfare movement in Pakistan.

In 2022, apocalyptic floods devastated Pakistan and drowned thousands of people and millions of farm animals. One third of his country was under water. Altamush responded to this natural disaster by co-founding the Charity Doings Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, whose mission is to advocate for Interspecies Justice. One of his projects included building a disaster-relief zone for people and farm animals in Pakistan. Through this initiative, Altamush’s impact included installing thousands of clean water stations in communities impacted by the floods, to ensure clean drinking water and the development of green vegetable gardens across Pakistan, for both humans and animals to foster a bond.

We are proud to have partnered with Altamush and Charity Doings Foundation by providing a grant from Humane Society International to support his initiatives for building Pakistan's first Disaster Zone Farm Animal Shelter, which is now operational.

Altamush holds four advanced postgraduate degrees in law: including Animal Law, Environmental law, Human Rights, and International Law from Lewis and Clark Law School, the University of Michigan Law School and Lahore University of Management Sciences Pakistan.

With all of Altamush's achievements, he credits his cat, Mao, for helping him understand the needs of animals: "When Mao came into my life, she showed me that animals exist in our community as well. And they're not just invisible beings. They have their own rights!"

At the Humane Society of the United States, we are committed to cultivating diverse emerging leaders. The DEI Trailblazer Award recognizes the unsung heroes in animal protection who are breaking barriers and forging new paths toward a more equitable and inclusive animal protection movement. See Altamush and other DEI Trailblazer Honorees' work for animals:
https://humanepro.org/expo/trailblazers