Animal welfare socio-professional communities and features of their social activities in Russia

The article is devoted to the social activity of socio-professional communities engaged in animal protection activities. Their role is important in solving the problems of homeless animals in Russia. One of the key achievements of Russian animal rights activists is the organization of shelters for neglected animals, the development of self-organization and a legislative ban on the destruction of stray animals. Based on the theoretical developments of other sociologists, the author suggests a classification of animal welfare socio-professional communities, additionally pointing out their possibilities of cooperation with professional communities in some issues.