This African Welfare Strategy for Africa is a 5-year sectoral document aiming at transforming the animal resources sector through the adoption of good animal welfare practices for human wellbeing, sustainable livelihoods, poverty reduction, and economic growth, and it forms an integral part of responsible development of animal resources in Africa and the world. It is intended to align with the OIE global animal welfare strategy. It is also developed in consideration of the increasingly frequent request for compliance with international animal welfare standards in trade agreements. As for the OIE definition, good animal welfare requires disease prevention, veterinary treatment, appropriate shelter, management, nutrition, humane handling, and humane slaughter/killing. The Strategy set out the following Strategic Objectives (i) attain behavior change, educate, inform, promote awareness, advocacy, and good practices aligned to OIE standards towards animals; (ii) strengthen effective action on animal welfare, including technologies, human resources, research, animal care, contribution to standard settings; (iii) mainstream animal welfare in policies, strategies, legislation, investments, programs, and projects. The welfare improvement shall positively affect animal production by (i) reducing production costs through reduction of stress-related losses in animal growth or health; (ii) improving the efficiency of animal production and productivity through better basic health and biological functioning – for example by reducing disease, injury, malnutrition, and death; (iii) creating and strengthening robust animal welfare sub-systems or units within animal resources or veterinary management systems with the determined budget; (iv) reinforcing sector-institutions directly or indirectly dealing with livestock, aquaculture, and animals, above all the animal production services and veterinary services in animal health and production; (v) establishing a monitoring and evaluation system. An inclusive economic and social growth can be increased through attention to animal welfare, including (i) developing the capacity of national and regional institutions to coordinate animal welfare improvement efforts and forging; (ii) addressing the concerns of poor animal owners and users as well as their communities which benefit from animal services by focusing on the actual animal welfare status and perceived problems, and on the drivers of locally important constraints on animal health, production, and trade; (iii) linking social economic and animal resources development to the principles of one health and one welfare, which involves efforts for sustainable animal resource development, fisheries, and wildlife welfare, conservation, and environmental protection, and equitable socio-economic development including income generation, gender balance and promotion of youth; (iv) developing a continental, regional and national communication strategy on animal welfare.
2018-01-01