An overview on animal welfare situation in Ethiopia

Tekelye Bekele, SAW-EthiopiaP.O Box 3630, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

E-mail: saw_ethiopia@yahoo.com

Background information on animal welfare

• A. W. can be defined and assessed using any one of the following four concepts.

• A) By assessing the physical, mental and natural states of an animal

• Physical state means the health of an animal• Mental state means how it feels i.e. whether it has

fear or anxiety• Natural state means satisfying its natural needs i.e.

association, grooming, perching, rooting, etc.

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• B) In association with five freedoms 1. Freedom from hunger2. Freedom from discomfort i.e. having shelter3. Freedom from pain and suffering from disease4. Freedom to express its normal behaviour5. Freedom from fear and distress

• C) In association with sentience• Animals are sentient creatures which need care and

protection against avoidable sufferings.• Sentience implies that they

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1. Are aware of their surroundings2. Have an emotional dimension3. Are aware of what is happening to them4. Have the ability to learn from experience5. Feel pain, hunger, heat, cold, etc6. Are aware of their association with other

animals7. Are capable to choose between different

animals, objects and situations

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• D) In association with basic needs • Life sustaining needs such as food and water

required for ensuring survival • Health sustaining needs for avoiding disease and

injury• Comfort sustaining needs for contributing to the

quality of animal life i.e. housing

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• Animal welfare and productivity• A. W. is inseparably linked with animal health and

productivity.• All are required for improving the physiology,

survival and productivity of animals.• Welfare, health and productivity should be tackled

without undermining one and overemphasising on the other.

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• Historical perspective of animal welfare movement

1. England is the pioneer of the movement (1500-1800. Jeremy Bentham’s logic in the 18th century. The question is not whether animals can reason or talk, but can they suffer- fundamental concepts for the animal welfare movement.

2. Anthropomorphic view dominated in the 19th century i.e. ascribing human characteristics to animals and degrading them as non-humans & justifying their sufferings.

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3. First law in 1781 – on treatment of cattle at Smithfield market in London

4. 1822-1840 – Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) was established

5. 1876 law against vivisection i.e. against cruelty to experimental animals

6. 1911 – The Protection of Animal Act in the UK7. Different regulations appeared in different countries

since that time. 62 out of 192 countries have animal welfare regulations in the world, 2004 WSPA study.

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8. 1970 - Movement split into animal welfare and animal right9. In 2002 Germany became the first country to protect

animals in its constitution10. EU and EC has variable regulations on welfare, research,

transport, agriculture and marketing11. Shift from national movement to international campaigns

and creating pressure on other countries: anti-whaling, sealing, bear farming, poaching, long distance transport, civet farming.

12. Current focus: Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare by United Nations

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• Animal welfare movement in Africa • A. W. movement is recent in Africa• First A. W. organization established in Ethiopia in

1954; but ceased to exist without accomplishing its objectives.

• At present six to seven organizations operate in Ethiopia.

• Almost all are dependent on external help.

Animal welfare problems in Ethiopia

1. Problems of animal transport by trucks, trains, trekking by foot, carrying poultry up side down, etc include:

• Body weight loss, physical injury, stress leading to pasteurellosis, mortality loss and possibility of spreading animal diseases.

• Inhumane & inappropriate transportation

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2. Inhumane slaughter in abattoirs • Inappropriate stunning by neck-stub method• Stunning and bleeding at the same place or side by

side• Skinning conscious animals• Forceful unloading, using excessive force when

prodding

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3. Inhumane management of stray dogs• Rabies is a very big problem in Addis Ababa since

there are too many dogs with no proper control • Free mixing of house hold and stray dogs• No planned rabies control program• Up to 30,000 stray dogs are killed yearly by an

inhumane strychnine poisoning• Strychnine makes animal suffer before resulting

death by asphyxiation

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4. Inadequate handling of working animals

• Working long hours continuously• No treatment for saddle sore • Overloading when carrying or pulling loads• Lack of proper outfit and not being shod• Neglect to provide additional feed

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5. Abandoning animals• Aged equines, animals suffering from incurable

diseases such as epizootic lymphangitis and unwanted pets are frequently abandoned

• Selective abandoning of female puppies• Change in living condition is forcing some owners

to abandon their pets

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6. Drought and animal loss• Heavy losses of animals has occurred in Ethiopia

due to drought at different times• Animals are neglected when providing emergency

supplies• They require water, feed and medicaments. But

animal feed are bulky and difficult to deliver. They are not easily acquired from outside like human food stuffs as well.

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7. Mutilation of animal body and related cruelties

• Hanging broody hen upside down• Inserting a thorn or a sharp piece of wood across

the nostrils of broody hen• Rubbing the mouth of a docile dog with an

irritant to force it to change its behaviour• Clubbing and stoning to death rabid animals• Improper killing to contain outbreaks

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8 Animal welfare problems of wild life • Encroaching habitat by bush clearing, cutting,

burning, grazing, ploughing, settlement and commercial farming

• Killing by poaching, mistaken legal hunting, etc• Problems in zoos• Problems under captivity• Wild life health problems

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9. Animal w. problems of environmental origin

• Danger of littering the environment with plastics and butchers refuse

• Animals are sometimes exposed to environmental toxicities such as toxic plants, chemicals, pesticides, acaricides and other industrial effluents

Suggested solutions for animal welfare problems

1. Animal welfare regulation2. Animal welfare education3. Improving the health, management and welfare

problems4. Rabies control and dog ownership regulation5. Population reduction in pets6. Humane slaughter in abattoir7. Humane euthanasia when required8. Reforestation and environmental protection9. A reliable animal rescue and long term

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Intervention policy to overcome drought and other calamities

10. Organic animal agriculture

Conclusion

• Ethiopia is a developing country which is struggling to reduce poverty and attain food security. The livestock sector of its economy is very high although it has not been utilized properly so far. But, it is still contributing about half of the agricultural sector of the national economy. Wild life is also contributing very much. Hence it is highly necessary to improve the health, welfare and productivity of such very big resource in order to fulfil the desired development goal.