Teaming up for thousands of paws – SPAR and the National Animal Protection Service together help animals in need

At SPAR, animal protection is a long-term commitment; for more than a decade, the company has been helping domestic shelters with food that has been withdrawn from commercial circulation but is still perfectly suitable for feeding animals.

In addition, over the course of several years of cooperation, a close partnership has now developed between SPAR and the National Animal Welfare Foundation, one of the most spectacular results of which is the “Paw in Trouble!” national pet food collection weekend, which was organized for the fifth time in May 2025 in INTERSPAR hypermarkets. Customers once again showed outstanding empathy and solidarity: they donated more than 8,600 kilograms of dry food, 5,700 pieces of canned and pouched food for dogs, while 1,600 kilograms of dry food, 12,000 pieces of canned and pouched food, and 1,550 kilograms of cat litter for cats. In addition, a significant amount of animal equipment and hygiene products were collected for the shelters. SPAR supplemented all this with a donation of 1 million forints, which went directly to the National Animal Welfare Foundation.

In addition to the “Paw in Trouble!” collection weekend in May, several other fundraising campaigns were implemented throughout the year, so customers were able to provide help to tens of thousands of shelter animals. During the collection campaigns organized in SPAR stores in 2025, among other things, 14,500 kg of dog and 2,800 kg of cat dry food, almost 10 thousand dog and more than 18 thousand cat canned food, and 790 dog salami were collected thanks to the kindness of customers, supplemented with various equipment and hygiene products.

“At SPAR, we believe that a responsible company has not only an economic but also a social role – and this includes responsibility towards animals. We are proud that together with our customers we can provide real, tangible help to civil organizations working for four-legged friends in need,”

– emphasized Márk Maczelka, SPAR’s Head of Communications.

“For us, one of the most important values ​​of this cooperation is that it gives visibility to small, often lesser-known civil animal protection organizations. As an umbrella organization, the National Animal Protection Foundation provides these communities with the opportunity to address customers and collect donations. This support is not only help for them, but also a real chance for survival,” said Kata Schreiter, spokesperson for the National Animal Protection Foundation.