The Comedy Pet Photography Awards Winner · Kinship

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The Comedy Pet Photography Awards Announce Their Winner

Think you’ve got the funniest photo of your pet? These finalists might put you to shame...

by Ro Elfberg
21 May 2024
A man with long grey hair and a grey beard posing next to his small grey and white-haired dog who looks very similar.
Darya Zelentsova with “The proud pup and his best friend”
Courtesy of The Comedy Pet Photography Awards

Update 6 June, 2024: And the winner of the 2024 Comedy Pet Photography Awards is... Sarah Haskell with her delightful picture of Hector the dog trying (and failing) to fit through the cat flap.

Other winners in individual categories include Kenichi Morinaga in the cat category for his picture of this kitty stuck in a wall, Darya Zelentsova in the pets who look like their owners category and Charlotte Kitchen in the junior category for her picture of a tired donkey. We feel you donkey!

Silly, clumsy, majestic, unintentionally hilarious – whatever they’re doing, our pets are the undisputed jesters of our households. The best way to celebrate our in-house comedians? The Comedy Pet Photography Awards.

The competition was created in 2020 by Paul Joynson-Hicks and Tom Sullam, the team behind the already very popular Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards. “Through the Comedy Pets, we want to promote positive awareness of animal welfare issues and celebrate the incredible and valuable contribution that pets can and do have on our lives,” they explain on their website. Anyone can submit images for consideration to one or more of the following categories: Dog: Our Best Friends; Cat: Our Fabulous Feline Friends; The Mighty Horse; All Other Creatures Great and Small; Pets who look like their owners; Junior (photos taken by under-16s) – and there’s also a video category. The team also ensures the safety of the subject animals by clearly stating “no clothes, hats or glasses on any pets or domestic creatures please and always be aware of how you are treating your pet, it is so so important to take great care of them.”

The finalists and winner are judged by a crack team that includes wildlife TV presenter Kate Humble, animal portraitist Gerrard Gethings, editorial and commercial pet photographer Elke Vogelsang, veterinary surgeon Emma Milne, and the two founders Paul and Tom. Submissions are now closed for 2024 and the winner will be announced on 6 June. The prize includes a bespoke trophy, a £500 cash prize and a camera bag from ThinkTANK.

You can see all the 2024 finalists here, but these are some of our favourites...

Vera Faupel with “Dancing Queen”
Courtesy of The Comedy Pet Photography Awards
Two kittens on a kitchen table playing with a roll of toilet paper.
Atsuyuki Ohshima with “Hard workers”
Courtesy of The Comedy Pet Photography Awards
A small windswept long-haired brown dog leaping through the snow with wide eyes.
Tammo Zelle with “It's fu cold”
Courtesy of The Comedy Pet Photography Awards
A grey cat looking at a floating inflatable duck in a swimming pool.
Diann C. Johnson with “Pool Friends”
Courtesy of The Comedy Pet Photography Awards
A close-up photo of a white/blonde dog with their mouth open in a grin and hair covering their eyes.
Bernard Sim with “Peekaboo”
Courtesy of The Comedy Pet Photography Awards
A cat in mid-air with their legs akimbo in a karate-style kick, holding on to a long yellow ribbon attached to the wall.
Kazutoshi Ono with “Tarzan”
Courtesy of The Comedy Pet Photography Awards
A brown poodle mid-flight as they leap through the air towards the camera.
Julie Smith with “I believe I can fly”
Courtesy of The Comedy Pet Photography Awards
Two cats standing on their hind legs peering over a green fence.
Emma Beardsmore with “Nosey Neighbours”
Courtesy of The Comedy Pet Photography Awards

Ro Elfberg

Ro Elfberg

Ro is Kinship UK’s Senior Editor. She has previously written and copy-edited for British Vogue, Glamour and DICE. When she’s not being manipulated into dishing out Dreamies to Kobe the cat, she spends her free time trying to convince her snake, Butters, to wear a tiny hat.

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