Global perspectives on animal welfare: Africa

Summary :

Livestock production systems, production objectives, the cultural values of livestock keepers, and the close relationship between keepers and their livestock have evolved over the years and have influenced the quality of animal welfare in Africa. An equivalent level and quality of care is not evident for companion animals, especially dogs and donkeys, who are often mistreated and physically abused. In the densely populated highland and humid coastal belts of Africa, profit-driven commercial large-scale intensive livestock production systems predominate. As the main production objective of these operations is to maximise profit, the operators of these production systems do not exhibit the same kind of attachment to their livestock as traditional farmers. In some largescale commercial systems animals and birds are kept in sub-standard poorly constructed structures that greatly restrict the animals’ movements. In Africa, conservation of wildlife habitats is part of animal welfare, but due to an increasing human population and a greater demand for land for grazing, cultivation, and housing, wildlife reserves are quickly diminishing. This essentially means that the land that was previously set aside for wildlife and forests is being encroached upon and previously unsettled plains and marginal lands are being used for agriculture and mining.

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