Vietnam · Companion Animal Welfare
Lữ Rescue Alliance collects the first ecosystem-level data on companion animal welfare in Vietnam. We work with rescue organizations and veterinary partners to fund specific programs and operations, and use what we learn to understand how support can most effectively build the capacity and sustainability of the sector. We publish our findings openly, so advocacy groups, practitioners, and funders can learn alongside us.
The Problem
Vietnam's companion animal rescue community is doing remarkable work. Many organizations have built genuine operational capacity, loyal donor bases, and meaningful local impact. But the scale of need — driven by high intake demand, limited community prevention infrastructure, and a welfare ecosystem still in its early stages — consistently outpaces what even well-run rescues can absorb.
The problem isn't commitment. It's that the structural conditions surrounding rescue work haven't kept pace with the organizations doing it.
Funding
Even resilient, well-managed rescues face funding structures that reward reaction over prevention, making it difficult to invest in the stability and systems that would make their work more sustainable over time.
Veterinary Access
Small-animal veterinary medicine is limited in reach and technology across most of Vietnam, and low earning potential makes it an unattractive career path for students. Meaningful veterinary capacity is concentrated in a handful of large cities, leaving most rescues severely underserved.
Data
There is almost no systematic data on this sector. No reliable estimates of stray or community-owned dog and cat populations. No documentation of what interventions have been tried, or whether any have worked. No data on rescue operations, costs, or outcomes. Without this foundation, funders can't direct resources where they're most needed, and practitioners have no evidence base to build on.
Infrastructure
There is no government-run or funded animal control infrastructure and no legislation specifically governing the humane management of stray populations. Requests to help sick or injured strays, or cases of abuse and neglect, fall entirely on the grassroots rescuers operating in each city. Combined with low sterilization rates, limited humane education, and active animal trafficking, this places sustained and disproportionate intake pressure on organizations that were never designed to absorb it alone.
Our Approach
We partner with rescues, veterinarians, and community members to collect baseline data on stray and community-owned animal populations, veterinary access, sterilization capacity, rescue operations, and the upstream conditions driving intake. We then fund rescue and veterinary programs and measure outcomes to understand what produces measurable impact and what works best. As patterns emerge and new information comes to light, we publish our findings so funders, practitioners, policymakers, and advocates have the evidence they need to invest more effectively in animal welfare.
Rescue Capacity & Sustainability
Providing structured grants to Vietnam's grassroots rescues to support operations and capacity building, while collecting rigorous baseline and outcome data through every partnership. The grants support real organizations doing real work. The data builds a picture of the sector: rescue organizational conditions, stray population dynamics, community veterinary access, and the upstream factors driving intake. It is the first systematic record of its kind in Vietnam.
Community-Based Prevention
Working alongside our local rescue and veterinary partners to fund and support community-level work that addresses intake pressure at its source — sterilization programs, veterinary access initiatives, and community education. This phase is shaped entirely by the Phase 1 baseline: where the gaps are, how they vary across Vietnam, and where intervention is most likely to make a measurable difference.
Insight & Advocacy
Publishing what we learn throughout — baseline conditions, community-level outcomes, and what the data shows about impact over time. Our findings are designed to be useful beyond our direct partners: to funders deciding where to invest, to practitioners looking for evidence, and to anyone working to strengthen animal welfare in Vietnam.
Why Vietnam
Vietnam's companion animal welfare sector operates under acute structural pressure: high intake demand, limited veterinary access outside major cities, volatile funding, active trafficking, and a policy environment still finding its footing. These conditions make Vietnam a hard place to do this work.
They also make it exactly the right place to start. A young, urban population is increasingly engaged with animal welfare. International and Southeast Asian advocacy groups are building presence and beginning to influence policy. And no one has collected systematic data on any of it. The baseline doesn't exist yet, which means there's still time to build it right, before the field consolidates around whatever approaches happen to arrive first.
Opportunities:
A growing, young population actively engaged with animal welfare, particularly in urban centers like Ho Chi Minh City
Young backpackers, expat communities, and international animal welfare organizations are already engaged with Vietnam. They represent an emerging donor base and community engagement channel, and a potential advocacy network with international reach that is largely untapped and unorganized
International and Southeast Asian advocacy groups are actively working to influence animal welfare policy right now, some achieving traction for the first time, creating real momentum that better data and coordinated support could accelerate
No systematic data exists yet in Vietnam, making this the right moment to build the baseline that the whole sector can use
What We Believe
Systems Over Symptoms
Reactive funding addresses symptoms. Systematic baseline-building, targeted intervention, and published evidence address causes. We invest in the infrastructure that allows the sector to learn and improve over time, not just respond to the next crisis.
Follow Local Leadership
Vietnam's rescue organizations, veterinarians, and community members understand their own landscape better than any outside organization can. We work inside that community, and our strategy follows what they tell us about what's needed.
Data With Purpose
We collect data that answers real questions about the sector: what conditions exist, what interventions have been tried, and what has actually made a difference. Every data point we gather is tied to a decision — for our partners, for funders, or for the broader advocacy and research community.
Earn the Right to Scale
We prove impact at small scale before expanding. Our pilot structure, phased growth, and self-funded early stage exist because we believe earned credibility is more durable than borrowed momentum.
Transparency Over Optics
We ask partners to be honest about what's working and what isn't, and we hold ourselves to the same standard. Trust is built through transparency.
Get in Touch
Whether you're a rescue partner, a funder, or someone who has spent time in Vietnam's animal welfare community, we're interested in connecting. We are currently in Phase 1 of our pilot program.