[excerpted from the PostNL press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
World Animal Day

Issue date: 4 October
Sheet of five stamps in five different designs marked ‘Internationaal 1’, the denomination for items up to 20g in weight destined for delivery outside the Netherlands
Design: Sandra Smulders – Vormgoed, Gouda
Item number: 820057

With the issue of the World Animal Day stamp sheet on 4 October 2022, PostNL highlights the celebration of this unique day dedicated to animals. World Animal Day was introduced in 1925 and has been celebrated in the Netherlands since 1930. On the five stamps, five different animal species draw our attention to animal welfare, along with practical tips on how we can offer help to animals in need. These stamps are marked ‘Internationaal 1’, the denomination for items up to 20g in weight destined for delivery outside of the Netherlands.

The World Animal Day stamp sheet features five postage stamps in five designs within the fixed frame of the personal stamp. The stamps feature photographic portraits of different animals, with

• ducklings,
• a goat,
• a seal,
• a cat and
• a hedgehog

from left to right. On all pictures on the stamps, the animal looks at the viewer, just like the dog on the edge of the sheet. The square green text logo of World Animal Day is featured alternately on the top right and bottom left of the stamps. The short texts on the tabs below the stamps give practical tips on how people can truly help animals. This is the first time PostNL has issued a sheet of personalised stamps with tabs. To the right of the large portrait picture of the dog on the edge of the sheet, the call to help us is featured in large letters. To the left of the dog appears the same World Animal Day text logo as on the stamps, with the date, 4 October, below it. The top left features the international logo of World Animal Day: a hand holding a globe that radiates sunbeams, featuring silhouettes of different animal species.

World Animal Day was conceived by journalist and author Heinrich Zimmerman (1888-1942). This animal rights activist and publisher of Mensch und Hund magazine organised the first World Animal Day, which took place on 24 March 1925. In 1929, he moved the date to 4 October. At the 1931 International Animal Protection Congress in Florence, the proposal to celebrate the day on 4 October all over the globe received unanimous support. The Netherlands held its first large-scale celebration of World Animal Day a year earlier, with an impressive parade through the Hague. The choice of 4 October has everything to do with the fact that this date is the feast day of Francis of Assisi (1181-1226), founder of the Franciscan monastic order and patron saint of animals. According to legend, St Francis once preached a sermon to animals and befriended a wolf.
Source: Origin of World Animal Day, Delpher, Dierenbescherming, Heiligennet, Wikipedia

The World Animal Day sheetlet was designed by graphic designer Sandra Smulders from Gouda. Her design incorporates the goals of World Animal Day, the organisation behind the international celebration of World Animal Day. ‘We know Animal Day or World Animal Day mainly as a day on which you do something extra for your pet,’ says Smulders. ‘But it is way more multifaceted than that. I featured the most important facets on the stamp sheet, including the importance of animal rights and animal welfare. And also the practical help we can offer animals in need. In this way, I want to increase awareness of the problems animals can get into and of the fact that we can do something about it.’

Based on these principles, Smulders chose the theme Help Us? as the common theme for her design. ‘This way you appeal to people directly. With such a theme, you must obviously choose images of animals that are looking at the viewer. And that is exactly what the Labrador puppy on the sheet edge and the various animals on the stamps are doing. On the tab next to each stamp is a brief text about practical ways to help animals. That’s the idea behind it, that people actually spring into action.’

The advantage of tabs is that you can tear them off along the perforation and stick them on a card or letter together with the stamp. Smulders: ‘That way you don’t only reach the senders but also the recipients with the practical tips. Of course, there is limited space to tell the whole story, but the key issues around animal welfare are there. It is also quite fitting that I was able to design international stamps for a subject like World Animal Day. It suits the subject.’

Availability:
The stamps are available while stocks last at www.postnl.nl/collect and can be ordered by telephone from the Collect Club customer service on telephone number +31 (0)88 868 99 00. The validity period is indefinite.

Technical Details:
Stamp size: 30 x 40mm (w x h)
Sheet size : 170 x 122 mm (w x h)
Paper: normal with phosphor print
Gum: gummed
Printing technique: offset
Printing colours: cyan, magenta, yellow, black
Appearance: personal stamps with the denomination ‘Internationaal 1′, : the denomination for items up to 20g in weight destined for : delivery outside the Netherlands.
Print run: 5000 per issue
Item number: 820057
Issue date: 4 October 2022