在2009年10月4日﹐台灣動物協會在台北市政府市民廣場舉辦了首次的世界動物日活動。活動的主題是「反棄養﹐反捕獸夾﹐反虐待」! 本次活動內容包含了台灣第一次的狗狗一公里遊行、娛樂表演、開幕典禮, 六十個商品和美食攤位、孩童的著色比賽和慈善晚會。慈善晚會將有許多藝人演出﹐如Ivy許嘉凌﹐許慧欣和其他明星和貴賓的參與。

今年的活動大使分別是台北市議員吳思瑤﹐Discovery旅遊生活頻道瘋台灣節目主持人Janet﹐歌手﹐演員和電視節目主持人Ivy許嘉凌以及白銀古董公司業主Faye Angevine。

世界動物日首次於1931年義大利佛羅倫斯的一個生態論壇會議發起，旨在激發世界各國對瀕臨絕種動物困境的注意。而經過數年時間的洗禮，此節日已發展為涵蓋所有動物並於世界許多國家一同慶祝。世界動物日訂在每年的十月四日，即為義大利阿西西動物守護聖人--聖方濟各的齋日。這個節日是為了所有關懷動物的人而設的慶祝活動。

On October 4, 2009, Animals Taiwan held its first ever World Animal Day event featuring another first – a one kilometer dog-a-thon through the heart of the Taipei business district. The theme was Adoption Saves! Abandonment Kills! Our purpose was to raise awareness to and educate about the stray animal population on our beautiful island and also about World Animal Day.

Braving the rainy weather, hundreds of dog lovers came out in force to celebrate and commemorate their love and respect for their very special friends. The event, held in front of Taipei City Hall, with Taipei 101 in the distant skyline, also included an opening ceremony attended by local and foreign government officials and event ambassadors, a carnival featuring 60 booths, an animal blessing ceremony performed by Monsignor Paul Russell of the Embassy of the Vatican and an evening charity show with local celebrity performances. We also held a painting contest for students ages 8 to 12 and a coloring contest for those aged 5 to 7. The theme of this contest was "Animals have feelings, too. Don't abandon your pet." The winning paintings will be put on display at an official exhibition.

With the success of this year's event, we plan to make it an annual affair to tell the citizens of Taiwan that "Adoption Saves! Abandonment Kills!"