Animal Advocate and All-Around Badass Ricky Gervais Wins Prestigious Animal Welfare Award

It’s no secret that we love Ricky Gervais. The comic, producer, and animal advocate is not shy about speaking up for those who can’t speak for themselves and with over four million Facebook fans and 12 million Twitter followers, Gervais never stops using his social media power for good. He’s known for posting poignant messages on Facebook about trophy hunting, the atrocities of the fur industry, and the absurdity of keeping animals in captivity. In January of 2017 we were left in awe once again when Gervais had a segment scheduled on Good Morning America to promote his new movie, David Brent: Life on the Road, but instead, he decided used his time on the show to try to find a home for Bear, a rescued Lab. Bear had a forever home in no time, all thanks to Ricky’s compassion.

So when we heard the news that Gervais received the prestigious Lord Houghton Award for Service to Animal Welfare from Animal Defenders International (ADI), a leading non-profit animal welfare organization with offices in Los Angeles, London, and Bogota, we couldn’t help but cheer him on.

The comic genius was presented with a crystal trophy by ADI President Jan Creamer at a special ADI ceremony where he said, “The suffering of animals absolutely sickens me and I will continue to speak out and Support the sterling work of organizations like Animal Defenders International.”

The Lord Houghton Award is presented annually by a group of animal welfare organizations including, ADI, OneKind, Cruelty Free International, and League Against Cruel Sports, with each organization taking a turn to nominate a recipient. The award was initiated in 1980 to recognize the work of Labour cabinet minister Lord Houghton’s longstanding contributions to animal welfare, even into his nineties. In 2012, ADI presented the prestigious award to legendary animal advocate Bob Barker.

Even though Gervais is currently on tour with his “Humanity” stand-up comic show, he proudly took time out of his schedule to accept the award and he also tweeted his thanks to ADI, saying the award has already been placed on a shelf.

Gervais has been a supporter of ADI for years and was one of the first to supports of their “Stop Circus Suffering” campaigns. ADI President Jan Creamer said, “Ricky Gervais is an outstanding and outspoken campaigner for animals who has raised animal protection issues with new and growing audiences. This award is in recognition of the longstanding and passionate role Ricky plays in giving animals a loud and powerful voice.”

We couldn’t agree more! Thank you, Ricky Gervais, for being a constant voice for animals. Even if you don’t have 12 million Twitter followers, don’t let that deter you from helping animals! Anyone can be a hero to animals in need. Saving one animal might not change the world, but for that one animal, their entire world is changed.

Image source: Animal Defenders International