This year Marie Claire and celebrity friends support the National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA). Apart from featuring the celebrities in the nude with either their favourite pets or rescued pets, the magazine is also planning a fundraising picnic for Saturday, 5 March where funds will be raised for the NSPCA.

“Human abuse of animals in SA makes for grim statistical reading and reflects on our tragic past; if human life counted for so little it’s no surprise that animal lives became almost worthless,” says Aspasia Karras, Editor of Marie Claire. “SA’s quadrupeds cannot help themselves, but we can, and in helping them we restore our humanity. We can’t all be St Francis of Assisi – I have adopted two fox terriers from the NSPCA and I am often brought to the end of my patience by the two of them, but living with them has made me an infinitely better human, certainly a more tolerant one.”

Celebs taking part in the campaign include:
• Actress Tanit Phoenix photographed in Los Angeles with rescue dog, Sampson
• 5FM DJ and Supersport presenter, Sias du Plessis, with rescue dog, Tod
• Freediver Hanli Prinsloo with her dog, Mila
• 5FM DJ, Euphonik, with rescue dog, Kyron
• Gold medallist SA swimmer, Cameron van den Bergh, with rescue dog, Pippa
• Generations actress, Kagiso Rakosa, with rescue dog, Shadow
• Griquas wing, Rocco Jansen, with his dog, Georgie
• Model, Shashi Naidoo
• 2OceansVibe bloggers and radio DJs, Seth Rotherham, Ryan Scott, Simon Hartley, Richard Hardiman, Bruce Good and Luca Vincezo, with their dog, Marvel
• YFM DJ and TV presenter, Dineo Ranaka
• Bloggers, Allegro Dinkwanyane from Faraitoday.com and Lelo Boyana from Justcurious.co.za with rescue dog, Fifi
• On-line networkers, Alex van Tonder a.k.a. Cape Town Girl (Capetowngirl.co.za), Kim Gray (Kimgray.co.za) and Samantha Walker a.k.a. La Muse (Popyacollar.co.za), with Viva
• Hip-hop musician, JR, with rescue dog, Tippex
• Rob van Vuuren and Louw Venter (Cornè and Twakkie) with Hobbes, Beth and Bella
• Actress and Pasella presenter, Vicky Davis, with rescue dog, Bart
• 5FM DJ and MK presenter, Elma Smit, with rescue cat, Kermit
• Isidingo actress, Hlubi Mboya, with her boyfriend, Kirsten Arnold, with rescue dog, Tsunami

“It is tremendous to see so many people being so supportive of the protection of our animals and showing care and compassion,” says Chris Kuch, PR Manager for the NSPCA. “We are delighted to be part of the campaign to pull together and to make South Africa a better place for all our animals. Together we can make a real and lasting difference.”

The mission of the SPCA movement in South Africa is to prevent cruelty to animals and ensure their welfare. It enforces over 90 per cent of the animal welfare legislation in South Africa. Over the past year:
• 24 972 animals were adopted from the SPCAs nationwide
• 17 655 lost or runaway pets that were taken into the care of the SPCAs were reclaimed by their owners
• 50 212 inspections were carried out by the SPCA movement
• Two major outreach projects were conducted by the NSPCA. These aimed to rescue, sterilise, vaccinate, deworm and medically treat animals in areas that have no access to the help of the individual SPCAs or veterinaray services
• It can cost from R60 000 to R180 000 a month to operate one small to medium-sized SPCA
• For more information, visit www.nspca.co.za.

To find out what motivated these celebs to join the campaign, pick up the March issue of Marie Claire magazine, on sale from 16 February.

For a glimpse behind the scenes at this year’s shoot, go to:
http://marieclairvoyant.com/behind-the-scenes/sneak-peak-at-marie-claire-naked-campaign-2011