Created in 1993, the Virbac Foundation has evolved over time to meet the needs of each era, while maintaining its core mission: the animal-human bond.

A new direction

Today, the Virbac Foundation is focusing its activities on animal-assisted therapy, mainly with children and teenagers.

This orientation sets three main objectives: 

• support medical institutions and associations involved in animal-assisted therapy, more specifically located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region;
• support and stimulate scientific research on animal-assisted therapy;
• more generally, encourage the development and recognition of the therapeutic value of animal-assisted therapy by the scientific community, which is essential to its development.

Our first actions

• Support for the French association for animal-assisted therapy (AFTAA) in setting up a branch in the French Riviera (the main player in the field of animal-assisted therapy, with over 15 therapists and as many dogs in France)
• Launch a call for projects to support health institutions based in our home region, the French Riviera, taking care of disabled children and teenagers and wanting to set up animal assisted initiatives.
• Collaboration with the Lenval Foundation to conduct a scientific study directed at better understanding the mechanisms of animal-assisted therapy, as well as the benefits for both the beneficiaries and the animal.
• Release of a best practice guide for the implementation of animal-assisted therapy for establishments catering to children with disabilities.

What is animal mediation? 

Animal mediation is highly diversified, and can be preventive, educational or therapeutic, involving a qualified professional, his or her animal and a beneficiary. This generic term covers a large range of practices: zootherapy, animal pedagogical support, animal-assisted therapy...

This practice harmonizes emotions, behaviors and rhythms between living beings, generating positive interactions for both humans and animals. This is a fast-growing approach to helping people in need (disabilities, post-traumatic stress, autism spectrum disorders...), both in medical-social establishments and in prisons, courts, schools...

Recognized as a non-medicinal therapy by the French national authority for health, animal-assisted therapy aims to promote improvement in a patient's physical, cognitive, social, psychic or emotional capacities, with the animal playing the role of mediator. Directed by a healthcare professional, AAT interventions involve planned therapeutic objectives, and their benefits are evaluated as for any other therapeutic approach.