About Us
Lanta Animal Welfare was founded by Junie Kovacs in 2005. Her mission was to end the suffering of the hundreds of homeless, abused, and injured animals on Koh Lanta. To date, we have sterilized and treated over 85,000 animals, and with your support, we continue to grow, helping more and more animals each year.
At Lanta Animal Welfare, we provide critical, life-saving treatment to injured and sick stray animals across Koh Lanta. Our veterinary team delivers urgent medical care, including emergency first aid, vaccinations, wound treatment, and preventative healthcare for animals in distress.
LAW’s main focus is the treatment of stray animals and sterilizations. Animals are brought to us for many different conditions, from skin problems to road traffic accidents and poisonings. Stray animals will sometimes stay with us for several weeks to ensure they are fit and well before they are released back where they came from.
Unfortunately, some of the animals that find themselves needing our help are unable to return to where they came from. This may be because they were too young upon their arrival, they are at risk of abuse, or simply because they have undergone treatment for such a long period that we can no longer return them. These animals will remain at the centre and will join our rehoming programme, with over 150 animals each year finding loving homes both here in Thailand and across the world.
Program at a glance
Why choose us?
By volunteering with us, you help to support the work of our animal welfare centre, get to know more about Thai culture, the people, the amazing food, and also socialize with other volunteers and Thai staff at our animal welfare centre.
You will have a hands-on impact on the recovery of our rescue animals, helping with their daily care, walks, feeding, and providing company to those healing in our hospital. Volunteering with us is an immensely rewarding and fulfilling experience, but it’s no walk in the park. It requires commitment and a decent level of fitness. You’ll meet loads of great people, and we know you’ll have lots of fun on the beautiful island of Lanta.
Requirements
We ask our volunteers to commit to at least one month of volunteering, be 25 years old or over, and have a decent level of understanding of the English language.
Volunteer experience
The volunteer programme operates 5.5 hours per day, 5 days a week, usually on two shift patterns: 7am to 12:30pm and 1:30pm to 7pm, with each volunteer having one 15-minute break while on shift. You will always have two days off together.
The morning shift will start at 7am, when we expect you to be ready to start. The morning will start with dog walking from approximately 7am–11am. After that, the tasks will vary from cleaning, training, and socializing with our cats and dogs. You may also be asked to help show some of our dogs to tourists on the tours. But don’t worry, our experienced tour guides will do all the talking.
The afternoon shift works in reverse to the morning shift. You will be cleaning, training, and socializing before we start walks at about 3:30–4pm. We do walk some of our kennel dogs in the middle of the day, but these walks are usually short. Volunteering at Lanta Animal Welfare requires people to be physically fit. Most days, you would walk between 15,000–20,000 steps.
10,000 THB per month (approximately US$303)
Our onsite accommodation is located right here at Lanta Animal Welfare, making it easy to walk to your volunteer shifts. We have four private rooms with ceiling fans, private bathrooms, and a communal kitchen where volunteers can prepare meals and relax together. It’s a simple, social, and convenient place to stay while becoming part of the LAW community.
All of the volunteer rooms have two single beds (but you will not be sharing with anyone unless you are a couple or friends), one fan, shelves for storing your personal belongings, and a mosquito machine. Mosquito nets are available from the office, along with additional bedding if needed. Please note that it is the responsibility of the volunteers to keep the rooms clean and tidy.
No meals are provided. Volunteers are responsible for preparing and arranging their own meals.
Depending on the season, Lanta hosts a range of activities to keep you busy in your spare time. These range from boat, snorkelling, and diving trips, kayaking through the mangroves, and hikes at the national park, to live music events, mini golf, padel, and many more.
We also have an activities WhatsApp group, where our coordinators and volunteers alike suggest and plan social outings around the island.
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