Animal Rights Watch

About us

Animal Rights Watch (ARW) — دیده‌بان حقوق حیوانات has watched over Iran's animals since 1997. We are independent and non-political, belong to no government body, and are licensed by Iran's Ministry of Culture as a non-governmental news agency (licence 90/24453).

We believe the first step to solving a problem is to see it. So ARW does three things:

Document. arw.ir is the reference record for animal welfare and wildlife in Iran: more than 8,000 published articles, 13,000+ photographs and videos, and nearly three decades of field reporting on poaching, illegal wildlife trade, protected areas, captive animals and environmental law, in Persian with English summaries.

Act. Our Animal Rescue Unit and Release Committee rescue injured animals and return them to the wild. Our rehabilitation wing, RAHAA (rahaaa.ir), treats and releases wildlife. Specialist projects cover invasive species (invasive.ir), help for fallen nestlings (helpbabybirds.ir, launching winter 2026–27), an interactive history of Iran's animal-protection movement (timeline.arw.ir), and a forthcoming investigation into the trade in animal parts sold as charms and superstitions.

Change minds. National campaigns, such as «سیرک نه!» (No to Animal Circuses), have reached millions through radio, TV and the press. ARW holds Iran's White Rooster Award (2011) and the Pasargad Foundation Nowruz Award (2015).

What we're looking for. Partners for joint field projects, wildlife-trade research, rescue and rehabilitation, education and media campaigns, and funders who want their support to reach the ground in a country few international organisations can work in directly. We bring local knowledge, trusted networks across Iran's provinces, and an audience that listens.