Change Doesn’t Happen on Its Own. A Summary of 2025 at the Mushika Foundation

15 Jan

The year 2025 was the first full year of activity for the Mushika Foundation, established in 2024 by Katarzyna Wypychewicz. It was a year of intensive operational, grant-making, advocacy, and expert work — from direct support for organizations working for animals, through systemic and legislative efforts, to building a foundation of knowledge and cross‑sector cooperation. Below is a month‑by‑month overview of the Foundation’s most important activities.

January

We began the year with strong support for organizations working for farm animals, wild animals, and companion animals.

At the end of 2024, the Mushika Foundation financially supported the “Ktoś, nie coś” Foundation during its relocation process. Thanks to this, the Ktosiowo sanctuary and its residents started 2025 on a spacious 27‑hectare site in Musuły, significantly expanding the possibilities for helping animals.

Starting in January, we also launched permanent monthly support for the “Ktoś, nie coś” Foundation, providing 10,000 PLN per month for statutory activities, including running the Ktosiowo sanctuary. Read more about our shared year of work for animals.

At the end of 2024, in December, the Mushika Foundation donated 100,000 PLN to the Open Cages Association to support their statutory goals, enabling them to begin 2025 with solid financial security for their ongoing work.

Also at the end of 2024, we donated 15,000 EUR to a public campaign on the welfare of calves and cows in Bulgaria, carried out in the first half of 2025 by the Nevidimi Zhivotni (“Invisible Animals”) Foundation.

March

May

The Mushika Foundation financially supported the 2nd Charity Run in Ktosiowo, “Someone Will Run” — an event promoting the work of the “Ktoś, nie coś” Foundation, building local community engagement and strengthening the sense of responsibility for animals.

July

In July, Olga Kazalska joined the Foundation as its Director, taking responsibility for Mushika’s strategic development and operational activities.

August

August was marked by fieldwork, advocacy, and expert activities.

On 12 August, we visited Nutriowisko in Rybnik and the Rybnik City Hall to explore possibilities for supporting the city in responsible and ethical management of the nutria population, classified as an invasive alien species.

At the same time, the Mushika Foundation engaged in advocacy efforts aimed at stopping the rodeo that was scheduled to take place on 13 September 2025 in Gliwice. We worked in cooperation with the Lawyers for Animals Association and other pro‑animal organizations. We also took part in a protest against the rodeo.

In August, we also the publication of “The Animal Protection Act – A Guide for Police Officers”, prepared by the Lawyers for Animals Association. Together, we distributed it to all police schools in Poland.

We also visited the Ktosiowo sanctuary to discuss opportunities for developing educational, social, and volunteer activities.

September

September was one of the most intensive months of the year.

We welcomed Ania Mazurowska to the team, responsible for the Foundation’s communications.

We ordered a small building that will serve as an educational room and sanitary facility for the Ktosiowo sanctuary — essential infrastructure for volunteers and visitors. We also provided a grant for equipping the room.

On 6 September, we took part in the Animal Liberation March, which passed through the streets of Warsaw.

On 9 September, under the tripartite agreement between the Mushika Foundation, the Łapa i Las Foundation, and the City of Rybnik we launched a project to expand the Nutriowisko sanctuary to care for nutrias captured in Rybnik and to carry out joint educational and social activities.

We provided a grant of 130,000 PLN to Nutriowisko. The first September installment covered the cost of building materials for the sanctuary’s expansion and the purchase of a delivery‑passenger vehicle, affectionately named “Nutek.”

In September, the rodeo in Gliwice was officially stopped — the city refused permission for a mass event, and the organizer cancelled it.

A training session on systemic animal protection was also held at the Provincial Police Headquarters in Białystok, co‑organized with the Lawyers for Animals Association.

A private initiative also strengthened pro‑animal efforts — a fundraiser organized during the Foundation Founder’s wedding supported the Ktosiowo sanctuary, and the fully vegan reception was an expression of a consistent commitment to animal welfare.

The month concluded with an incredible Education Day in Ktosiowo, combining training for children, youth, and public officials (led by the Lawyers for Animals Association) with hands‑on volunteer work by the Jesteśmy Blisko Foundation for the sanctuary.

October

We continued training activities for the Police — this time at the Provincial Police Headquarters in Łódź, the Metropolitan Police Headquarters in Warsaw, and the Police Training Center in Legionowo.

We provided further grant installments to Nutriowisko for developing animal spaces and for the castration and marking of 20 nutrias.

The Mushika Foundation also took part in parliamentary work on the ban on fur farming — we submitted our position to the Special Parliamentary Committee on Animal Protectionand later to the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development. Katarzyna Wypychewicz gave an interview on this topic for TVN24.

November

November was filled with education, media cooperation, and building new partnerships.

TOK FM aired an interview about free‑living rats with Katarzyna Wypychewicz, Renata Markowska from the Noga w Łapę Foundation, and Magdalena Krupa‑Polak and Gabriela Jarzębowska‑Lipiska — authors of the Mushika Foundation’s report “Unknown City Residents: A Report on Free‑Living Rats.” It was the first radio conversation of its kind and served as a preview of the upcoming report.

We visited the Dziki Projekt Foundation, beginning discussions on cooperation for wild animals.

Together with the Lawyers for Animals Association, we organized another training session, this time at the Provincial Police Headquarters in Rzeszów.

We donated 5,000 PLN to the Psia Krew Foundation, which helps animals in need, including through the Animal Helper app.

We traveled to Wrocław to take a closer look at the situation of free‑living rats — we spoke with residents, visited the so‑called “rat street” Igielna, and met with Dr. Edyta Wincewicz from the University of Environmental and Life Sciences to discuss rats and responsible population management.

The Mushika Foundation also submitted a statement supporting the amendment to the Animal Protection Act to the President of Poland.

On Fur‑Free Day, we officially announced Mushika’s membership in the End the Cage Age.  coalition.

We also awarded a 26,000 PLN grant to the Mam Pomysł Foundation, which runs a shelter for homeless animals in Świdnica. The grant will enable  the construction of a sensory garden for dogs, allowing them to fulfil their natural behavioural needs.

December

December did not close our activities — it opened a new chapter. The publication of „Unknown Residents of the City: A Report on Free‑Living Rats” was the first fully original expert initiative of the Mushika Foundation. We worked on it for many months, and its release was accompanied by the conference „Rat: Unwanted Guest or Master of Survival” initiated and organized by the W imię Zwierząt Foundation.

December also brought reasons to celebrate — the President of the Republic of Poland signed a law introducing a ban on fur farming in Poland which the Mushika Foundation consistently supported at every stage of the legislative process.

The final training of 2025, organized with the Lawyers for Animals Association, took place at the Provincial Police Headquarters in Gorzów Wielkopolski. In total, we trained over 2,000 police officers in 2025.

At the end of the year, the Mushika team grew once more — Justyna Pikor joined us as Project Manager.

Partnerships

We are deeply grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with other social organizations and local governments. We believe that only through cooperation can we build lasting, responsible solutions that improve the lives of animals.

In 2025, we worked with 14 partners — both through ongoing relationships and new areas of collaboration:

• Lawyers for Animals Association
• Łapa i Las Foundation (Nutriowisko)
• City of Rybnik
• “Ktoś, nie coś” Foundation
• Open Cages Association
• Nevidimi Zhivotni
• Mam Pomysł Foundation
• End the Cage Age coalition
• Psia Krew Foundation (Animal Helper)
• Dziki Projekt Foundation
• Przyjaciel Zwierz Foundation
• Humane Wildlife Solutions
• City and Municipality of Dobrodzień
• W imię Zwierząt Foundation

It was a year of building foundations — substantive, relational, and systemic. We enter 2026 with experience, a strong team, and partnerships that allow us to act even more boldly and effectively.