Do you love photographing animals - from the pets who share your sofa to the wildlife visiting your garden or local park? Your favourite animal photos could feature in The Humane Research Trust’s 2027 charity calendar, and help fund more humane, animal‑free medical research.

We’re inviting animal lovers, nature fans, photographers and bird watchers of all ages to send us their best animal images. Whether you’re a seasoned photographer or you simply snapped the perfect moment on your phone, we’d love to see your pictures.

What we’re looking for

The winning photos will be printed in our 2027 charity calendar, which goes on sale from August 2026 via our mail order catalogue and online shop, helping to raise vital funds for our work.

Your photos can:

• Be taken indoors or outdoors
• Feature companion animals (such as dogs, cats, rabbits or other pets) or local wildlife (from garden birds and hedgehogs to foxes or squirrels)
• Depict animals anywhere in the world - although as a UK charity, we’re especially keen to see animals close to home

The only firm rule is that no people should appear in the images.

To give you an idea, previous calendar images have included everything from cosy pets basking in a beam of sunlight to wild visitors caught exploring gardens and green spaces.

Meet the competition judge

Once entries close, our patron Chris Packham will take on the difficult task of choosing 12 winning photographs to feature in the calendar.

As a passionate conservationist and familiar face from BBC nature programmes, Chris brings a keen eye and a soft spot for animals to the judging panel.

If your image is selected, we will feature it in our 2027 calendar, with your name credited, and showcase it on our website and social media channels when we reveal the winners.

How to enter

This competition is free to enter, but if you are able, we'd greatly appreciate a small donation alongside your entry. This will help us continue supporting humane research methods.

You can submit your photos right here, via our online form:

Alternatively, you can email your entries to [email protected]. Make sure to include your name, contact details, up to five photos as attachments, and a short note about each photo (such as who or what it shows, and where it was taken).

Photo quality and file guidelines

To make sure your photos look their best in print, please:

• Send landscape images (these work best with our slim calendar format)
• Attach the original, full‑size file from your camera or phone
• Use JPEG or PNG files at 2MB or larger
• Avoid screenshots, heavily cropped or compressed files, or images saved directly from social media

We may not be able to use images that are low resolution or heavily edited, even if the subject is perfect.

Use of images and deadline

By entering the competition, you give The Humane Research Trust permission to use your image in future publications, on our website and on our social media channels, always with a credit where possible.

The deadline for entries is 11:59pm (BST) on Sunday 28 June 2026.

We can’t wait to see your animal photos, and to fill our 2027 calendar with images that celebrate the animals we care so deeply about.