Growing up on a farm gave me tremendous exposure to be up close with different kinds of animals. It allowed me to learn about them and to coexist with nature, as well as recognise their vital role in our ecosystem. The daily activities of feeding them, cleaning the area where they are kept and checking on their wellbeing, spurred my passion to be an advocate for animals in my hometown.

After spending years learning and interacting with different animals, as I grew older, I picked up hobbies like horse riding, researching on conservation, and volunteering to care for stray animals in my hometown. Horse riding allowed me to understand what it’s like to bond with animals, to accept that no two horses are the same and that they too have their good days and bad days where they may not want to go for a ride. That’s when I realised that I cannot force an animal to do something they don’t feel like doing and they are also just like us humans.

I have been rescuing stray animals, rehabilitating them and putting them up for adoption, for many years now. I work with my aunt, who with some of her close friends, along with a veterinarian, set up an NGO to capture, neuter, and re-home or release strays to control the breeding population in our town in Ipoh, Perak. Those who want to adopt a stray usually come to us as we would have always some animals in foster care. We also provide free neutering and yearly vaccinations for their pets at a discounted rate. This is our way of encouraging and educating our community to adopt and give these animals a home, and not support unethical breeding, where the goal is to make money from exploiting pure-bred dogs and cats in captivity.

Through these experiences, I have learnt so much about the world of animal conservation. My mission is to continue to rescue animals in need and give them the best quality of life during their time on this earth. I would also encourage people to support ethical sanctuaries around the world and wildlife parks as they work hard to preserve the wild and nature from extinction, to create a balanced and sustainable ecosystem for us and future generations to live in. As they say – Extinction is only reversible in movies!”

Sarah Roseanne Kennedy is part of the Marketing Communications team in QI Group’s direct selling subsidiary, QNET. She devotes her free time to rescue and care for animals of all kinds, handling them without fear but with pure love and respect, even if it’s an angry, hissing King cobra!