We have in place a Universal Declaration on Human Rights, treaties and bills on gender equality and equity, children’s rights, good governance and democracy, refugees rights, prisoners of wars rights et cetra et cetra. Now we want something concrete on animals- a Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare (UDAW).
Since the creation of the world animals have always been close to humans. Human beings have engaged and kept animals for various reasons. The obvious been economic and social purposes. People keep animals for money, food and companion. Despite the enormous importance of animals attached to our lives we have continued to mistreat animals despicably.
On a number of cases, for instance, we have subjected them to poor housing conditions, pain and hunger, we have refused to treat them when they fell sick, and we refused either knowingly or unknowingly to use humane methods when slaughtering them. That is how badly we have fared in animal welfare matters!
Poignantly, some people take good care of their animals; they treat them when they fell sick, feed them as per the required standards, provide them with good shelter and sometimes talk to them nicely. Do you know that animals talk? Try talk to them and they will tell you how you are supposed to treat them.
The other time I tried to engage a friend of mine in this subject, he simply laughed me off. “Hey man you must be joking! You are talking about animals while we humans have have plenty of trouble in our plates? Look the way we are grappling with absolute poverty, families go for days without a meal, malaria, tuberculosis, cholera, HIV/ AIDS is eating us, now there is Rift Valley Fever and you are talking about animals?,” he frowned.
I could understand his reaction. Most people think the same way and probably you think the same way too. To me I think people simply overlook that thin line between human and animal welfare. There is always a link between the two. My premise is that if animal welfare issues are given due attention then human welfare will be improved. If we keep animals for money or food are we not trying to improve on our welfare?
A quick scan through the media one would conclude that animal welfare in our country and more so in most parts Africa and other developing countries forms an insignificant part of our every day news coverage. Are you aware of the pain inflicted to animals transported over a long distance to the city for slaughtering? Most of these animals are normally packed many in trucks and lorries and some die on the way due to suffocation and dehydration.
A FAO study in 2004 reveals that in 2003 alone, 52,792 million animals worldwide were slaughtered for food (FAO, 2004). Sadly, slaughtering is often carried out using methods that cause avoidable suffering. Chickens, to say the least, suffer most. They are caged or crammed and forced to grow super-fast, and pushed to their physical limits in the quest for more meat or eggs.
In terms of the degree of animal cruelty, factory farming is the largest area of animal welfare concern in the world today. Severe welfare problems are inherent in intensive methods of animal rearing, such as the battery cage for egg laying hens or sow stalls for pregnant pigs. These systems of mass-producing animals or their products were first developed in North America and Western Europe. Successive crises in Europe, coupled with a ground swell of public and political opinion, has seen legislation introduced to abandon some of the worst factory farm systems.
Asia, South America and Africa are now becoming major growth areas for the development of factory farming. This growth is often supported and encouraged by western agri-business interests.
Livestock production worldwide continues to grow and is tending to move from extensive marginal land use and mixed cropping to industrial or factory farming. Nowhere is this expansion more marked than in developing countries.
According to the International Food Policy Research Institute, countries in Latin America, Asia, and Africa will be the world’s leading producers of animal products by 2020 and much of that meat will be produced in industrial systems (Delgado, 1999).
The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) is the world’s largest network for animal welfare. It brings together over 700 member societies in more than 146 countries and a whole community of individuals around the world who care about animal welfare.
Towards the end of last year, WSPA opened up a regional office for Africa in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania to foresee the development of animal welfare issues in Africa and seek support from African governments, politicians, religious leaders, academicians, activists, traders, farmers, and members of the general public in addressing animal welfare matters.
According to the Africa Regional Director, Mr. Nick de Souza, WSPA’s animal welfare programmes include a mix of direct fieldwork, campaigning, education and training, and member society development.
De Souza says WSPA‘s work is focused on four priority animal welfare areas: companion animals - responsible pet ownership, humane stray management, and preventing cruelty. The second area is on commercial exploitation of wildlife - intensive farming, and cruel management and killing of wild animals for food or products. The third one falls under disaster relief for animals – basically providing relief to animals in distress from man-made or natural disasters. The last one is on farm animals - intensive farming, long distance transportation, and inhumane slaughter of domestic animals for food.
WSPA’s vision is to have a world where animal welfare matters, and animal cruelty ends.
WSPA believes that through campaigns and projects, the world’s leading global animal welfare movement for exposing cruelty and the suffering of animals will be formed. Through recognition and dialogue with all levels of government worldwide, WSPA seeks increased legislation to change the lives of animals forever.
“We will provide support, coordination and leadership to engage the power of the collective international community to tackle global animal welfare problems that no single society can address alone – creating relentless international momentum for positive change,” said de Souza.
According to him, WSPA is now working closely with stakeholders to ensure that a Universal Declaration in Animal Welfare (UDAW) is achieved and adopted at the United Nations General Assembly.
To be able to achieve this, African governments through their ministries of foreign affairs need to support the petition at the General Assembly. Animal Welfare activists, other key stakeholders and members of the general public can join the campaign to attain the envisaged declaration by signing the petition. You can do this by visiting WSPA’s homepage
www.wspa-international.org
In the words of Napoleon Bonaparte, “there are two powers in the world, the sword and the mind. In the long run the sword is always beaten by the mind.” Let us join WSPA to form a movement that will defeat the ‘sword’ and create a world where animal welfare matters.
Ghana: Foreign retailers cited for currency…18/05
Kenya: Community radio brings succour to…18/05
Veld fires 'flame' Zimbabwe's…16/05
Vanishing Lake Chad puts 30m lives at risk14/05
Heavy rains cause havoc in Kenya14/05
Zimbabwe: Growth points lie dormant14/05
Sierra Leone improves in infant mortality11/05
Zimbabwe: Resettled farmers fail to utilize…10/05
Algerians vote in parliamentary election10/05
Sierra Leone: Girl 13, dedicates life to…08/05
African traders benefit from e-commerce08/05
Mobile phones revolutionize HIV testing in…07/05
Zimbabwe: Sand poaching out of control04/05
Sierra Leone attains Guinness World Record04/05
"Mali a serious threat to regional…04/05
