Journal of Animal Sciences and Livestock Production Open Access

General Status of Animal Welfare: African Context

Isayas Asefa Kebede^* Department of Veterinary, Wolaita Sodo University, Wolaita Sodo, Ethiopia
^*Correspondence: Isayas Asefa Kebede, Department of Veterinary, Wolaita Sodo University, Wolaita Sodo, Ethiopia, Email:

Received: 24-Jan-2023, Manuscript No. IPJASLP-23-15551; Editor assigned: 27-Jan-2023, Pre QC No. IPJASLP-23-15551 (PQ); Reviewed: 08-Feb-2023, QC No. IPJASLP-23-15551; Revised: 24-Mar-2023, Manuscript No. IPJASLP-23-15551 (R); Published: 31-Mar-2023, DOI: 10.36648/2577-0594.7.2.42

Introduction

An animal welfare is a human responsibility that encompasses all aspects of animal wellbeing, including proper housing (where relevant), management, nutrition, disease prevention and treatment, responsible care, humane handling, and when necessary, humane slaughter. From the animals’ perspective, the most important aspect is how it manages to cope with environmental stressors or the conditions in which it lives [1-3].

Animal welfare also involves the application of sensible and sensitive animal husbandry practices to the livestock on the farm. Good animal welfare has a positive effect on production. Good practices of animal welfare are underpinned by the framework provided in the five familiar freedoms that describe an animal’s fundamental needs including free from thirst, hunger and malnutrition, discomfort, pain, injury and disease, fear and distress, and should also be able to engage in normal pattern of animal behavior. When behavioral and physiological stress responses are thwarted or if it fails to maintain homeostasis, it is likely that the animal will express chronic stress. Symptoms of this can be injurious behavior to themselves e.g. self-mutilation, or chronic activation of the autonomic nervous system. This will evidently result in lowered animal welfare [4-7].

The status of animal welfare keeping is variable between developed and developing world. The source of differences arises due to a difference in the interest of policy makers between developed and developing nations in driving up of consumers to demand products passing animal welfare standards. Animal welfare issues are championed by a range of interest groups with agendas that range from improving the conditions under which animals are raised for food to elimination of the use of animals for food or clothing [7-10].

Developed countries tend to have more financial resources and infrastructure than developing countries to support improvements in animal welfare, including improvements to housing, feeding systems, and transportation; greater number of veterinarians and animal production specialists, more developed industries for vaccine and animal health supplies, and enhanced education and industry awareness regarding animal welfare. Although developing countries often face significant challenges with regard to resources, knowledge, research, and awareness around animal welfare, they can benefit from the experiences and advanced technology of developed countries.

The use of an ethical basis for animal welfare standards requires some generally accepted principles on how animals should be treated and used by humans. The use of behavioral principles should improve efficiency of livestock handling and reduce stress on animals. Changing public opinion about the importance of good animal welfare and applying legislative actions will be important in animal production systems especially in developing countries where the poor animal welfare is immense and production management is below sub standards.

Literature Review

Many study results showed that animal welfare concern remain at its lower level in developing countries including Africa due to various reasons, some of the key factors that hinder the welfare issue includes, poor economic of the people, absence of government support, and lack of skills towards the management [11-13].

Developing nations need to develop systems to inspect animal facilities and review research practices to ensure that animal welfare issues are addressed well in all institutions and facilities dealing with animals remain basic concern. Frequent updating the current public thoughts and believes about the importance of practicing good animal welfare management and applying legislative actions will be important in animal production systems especially in developing countries, where the poor animal welfare is enormous. Therefore, the objectives of this seminar paper are:

• To compile information on current status of animal welfare in developing countries in African context.
• To show challenges and opportunities of animal welfare application in developing countries.

Animal Welfare Discipline

The terms “animal welfare”, and more rarely “animal well-being”, were used extensively by the general public in the 1950-1986 period. Animal protection societies campaigned referring principally to the welfare of companion and laboratory animals. A significant publication, which advocated concern about the welfare of farm animals, was Ruth Harrison’s book “Animal Machines” [14-17].

Animal welfare as a ‘formal discipline’ started with the publication of the Brambell report on the welfare of farm animals, issued by the British government in 1965. The study of animal welfare includes husbandry and human–animal interactions, the multi-faceted approach has to include collaboration between the natural and social sciences. Animal welfare arose as a scientific discipline in the 1980’s and has developed rapidly since that time. However, some components of the science and much of the ethical basis which encouraged its development existed long before that time.

Then, the concepts have been refined, methodologies for assessment developed and links made to other areas of science. Changes in the subject and in its teaching are required. Since 1986, a series of senior academic teaching posts in the subject have been created. The veterinary and animal science students should receive a specific course on animal welfare, in addition to mention of the subject in other courses. In the future, more allusion to developments in understanding of welfare in relation to disease and brain measures of welfare is likely.

World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) Achievements of Animal Welfare

The OIE, with its recognized global leadership in animal health, scientific basis and inclusive and democratic standard setting process, is the obvious international organization to continue to lead the development of global animal welfare standards. The OIE has adopted many animal welfare standards and continues its standard setting work with a view to covering the major livestock production systems. Future standard setting priorities include dairy, pork, veal and egg production systems. Greater involvement of developing countries in animal welfare standards and related activities is an important goal for the OIE. One step is to identify topics that are more specifically relevant to developing countries. Another step is training and capacity building, with a focus on veterinary services in developing countries.

Animal welfare was first identified as a priority in the OIE strategic plan 2001-2005. The OIE guiding principles on animal welfare were included in the terrestrial code in 2004. Since May 2005, the world assembly of OIE delegates (representing the 180 member countries and territories) has adopted ten animal welfare standards in the terrestrial code and four animal welfare standards in the OIE aquatic animal health code (aquatic code). The standards are regularly updated to take account of latest scientific findings. These standards cover: Introduction to the recommendations for animal welfare, Transport of animals by land, transport of animals by sea, transport of animals by air, slaughter of animals, killing of animals for disease control purposes, stray dog population control, use of animals in research and education, animal welfare and beef cattle production systems, animal welfare and broiler chicken production systems, introduction to recommendations for the welfare of farmed fish, welfare of farmed fish during transport, stunning of farmed fish for human consumption and killing of farmed fish for disease control purposes.

The Status of Animal Welfare in Developing Countries

Developing countries are increasingly coming under pressure to harmonize international standards set by developed countries, such as to improve their delivery of veterinary services as a prerequisite for entering the competitive arena of international trade in animals and animal products. However, animal welfare is profoundly affected by the culture, values, and economies of human societies.

In the developing world, where food insecurity and poverty are prevalent, the welfare of animals receives low priority due to lack of knowledge in animal handling, traditional customs and beliefs, substandard handling facilities and failure of government legislation. There are however, little efforts towards raising of animal welfare issues in most developing countries and animals are reared under very extensive, range management conditions, of which their interactions with people are infrequent and nearly always aversive.

The status of domestic animal protection laws in Asia, Africa, and Latin America varies, as one might imagine, from country to country. Countries with high per capita incomes are more likely to have a large number of animal protection organizations, whose existence normally leads to the passage of protective legislation. The sociopolitical, cultural, and religious backgrounds of each country, as well as previous colonization, also influence whether it has animal protection legislation and whether these laws are enforced. Previous colonization is the case in many former British colonies, which often have very good laws but neither the means nor the interest to enforce them. With some exception, countries within each region of the world follow similar patterns of law and enforcement.

In Asia, problems tend to stem from lack of provision for stray animals, lack of protection for wild and captive animals, and minimal awareness of animal welfare as a concept. The biggest obstacles in African countries are financial and cultural. In many of these countries there is little concern for the animals, because so many of the people are struggling for survival. However, most of these areas have exhibited a growing interest in increasing animal protection programs and law enforcement.

The Status of Animal Welfare in Africans Context

Legislation: Many African nations lack published animal welfare laws. There is scarce empirical data from Africa on the existence or adequacy of national or institutional policies and guidelines on the use of animals in research. However, the little evidence available indicates that most African countries lack relevant legislation and guidelines.

Animal welfare has not yet achieved a high political profile in developing countries, for example, none of the fifteen countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) (Angola, Botswana, Congo (democratic republic), Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe) has a dedicated animal welfare policy or specific animal welfare legislation. As regards animal welfare laws, only Tanzania out of the 15 countries has a modern, comprehensive animal welfare act. Seven countries have outdated anti-cruelty acts i.e. Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi Seychelles, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Two countries i.e. South Africa and Namibia have comprehensive animal protection acts, but these also need to be reviewed to extend their scope and coverage. Zambia has a new animal health act which provides powers for animal welfare regulations, and in Zimbabwe the animal health act also includes powers to make regulations to allow registration of certain animal enterprises.

Some countries have enacted their own animal welfare legislation, especially countries under British influence have animal protection laws derived from Britain’s protection of animals act of 1911, but even in these cases, implementation and enforcement mechanisms have been largely ineffective. There are examples of good practice in Africa generally and in Southern Africa in particular, i.e. in Tanzania and South Africa and Kenya from East Africa. African countries, Kenya, South Africa and Tanzania enacted the animal welfare act in 2008. These could be used to encourage and inform the development of animal welfare policies throughout Africa.

There are several acts that regulate animal welfare in South Africa, the main ones being as follows; animal protection act, 1962 and performing animals protection act, 1935. The other important regulations are, elephant management regulation, marine aquaculture policy, animal improvement act, 1998, societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals act (which governs the organization and management of animal welfare associations). The NSPCA (National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) is the most active organization with regard to animal welfare it was founded in 1955 as the federation of SPCAs to provide a forum to bring uniformity to welfare legislation and standards. Government policies of Kenya do not deal with animal welfare. However, there is a prevention of cruelty to animals act (criminal act of 1963, revised 1983, also known as cap 360), based on British law.

However, the other driving forces behind the development of animal welfare policies include the animal welfare movements in some African countries. Where these movements are well developed, they are able to contribute significantly to both public awareness and political will, using education, awareness programmes and advocacy.

Awareness and Perception

Levels of public awareness on animal welfare are generally low in most of the countries. Notable exception is in South Africa, where awareness is high in some sectors of the society, but remains a challenge in previously disadvantaged and vulnerable groups. Awareness on animal welfare within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states has however risen significantly over the years. There are considerable activities being carried out on humane education and or animal welfare classes in schools by NGOs such as in Tanzania, South Africa and the Seychelles. There appears to be a high level of awareness of animal welfare in some sectors of South African society, however, in poorer sectors there is less awareness and concern. There has been some useful work on human education/animal welfare education taking place in South Africa, particularly at school level.

In Egypt, animal welfare is not perceived as an issue by the general public people generally does not seem to value their animals very highly. This may be due to limited education and poverty within the country. Lack of knowledge may also negatively affect the animal welfare situation. Animal welfare issues are not considered as high priority in Malawi, but in Lilongwe, the capital city, education programs are used to increase the awareness of animal welfare issues among primary school children.

Practice of Animal Welfare

In developing countries there is high level of animal welfare abuse. Many domestic animals in Africa suffer welfare abuses arising from: Neglect; malicious physical injury; starvation; confinement; use of inappropriate modes or facilities for transportation; overcrowding; overworking, inhumane treatment at slaughter, inhumane treatment during capture, branding, and inappropriate working tools.

Wild animals are kept in captivity for conservation, education and research purposes in zoos, research in laboratories, fur farming and for entertainment, in circus and other establishments that provide animals for other entertainment industries such as television, films and advertisements. In captivity animals are not free to perform much behavior to the same extent as they would in the wild. Captivity restrains an animal’s natural movements, foraging, feeding, hiding and mating behaviors, and restricts appropriate or allows inappropriate social interactions.

Welfare of animals in developing countries can be classified under the following headings. These are welfare of work animals, welfare of production animals (milk and meat), welfare of companion animals, welfare of wild and captive animals including animals used in entertainment.

Working Animals

Draught animal technology is a reliable and popular farm power resource in most developing countries. However, despite its growing popularity, animal traction farmers face several constraints such as rapid ploughshare wear, high draught forces and poor design of harnesses and other implements. Also, farmers and researchers have placed little emphasis on the importance of draught animal welfare issues.

Animal power (horses, donkeys, mules, camels, and steers) is commonly used in Africa for transport and ploughing. These animals are forced to carry heavier loads over longer distances and plough bigger fields for longer periods of time. To ‘increase profit margins’, poorly designed and inappropriate equipment (i.e. harnesses, wagons, and ploughs) are used and the animals are not given adequate water, feed, or rest.

Draught animals undergo suffering in many ways, such as overloading, beating and whipping, harness sores, lack of adequate feed and rest, all culminating in excessive strain and stress. They become very weak, overworked and overstressed especially at the start of the working season. Sometimes sick and injured animals are made to work otherwise, the owners who eke out subsistence living would starve. In several instances, poor farmers who cannot afford better equipment are also insensitive to animal suffering and welfare culture.

Production Animals

The major welfare problems of dairy cows are lameness, mastitis, and any conditions which lead to impaired reproduction, inability to show normal behavior, emergency physiological responses or injury. Poorly designed housing systems can result in a variety of welfare problems and these can be exacerbated by high stocking density.

In most smallholder farming areas in the Sub-Saharan region, animals in holding pens are stressed due to lengthy durations at market places, during auctioning or at the lairage, poor handling facilities and introduction into different social groups resulting in fights, bullying, bruises and mounting. Such situations influence cattle well-being.

In Kenya, about 70% of dairy production is from the smallholder production systems and chicken meat is a key delicacy to most consumers. However, these production systems are negatively impacted by a number of factors including poor nutrition, substandard husbandry and management practices, lack of appropriate farm inputs, diseases and low incomes. These factors influence the welfare of dairy cattle. So, poor housing conditions lead directly to poor health outcomes. Poor welfare conditions have direct negative effects on physiology, behaviour, disease susceptibility and productivity of an animal.

The process of chicken production, transportation and slaughter is fraught with inhumane practices. The chicken being transported in non-designated and poorly designed modes such as on top of passenger vehicles or tied upside down on moving bicycles or motorcycles for many hours over long distances. These inhumane practices expose the chicken to extreme pain and suffering. The situation is exacerbated by lack of regulation on animal welfare in Kenya.

In Egypt there are small and medium-sized fish farms, with levels of management which are not very high. The use of fish feed is increasing, replacing the use of no fish feed at all. The water quality of the ponds is poor and this causes health risks. Sheep and goats also often lack any form of housing, and management may be of limited quality. The feed resources consist of household waste and grass near irrigation canals.

Most of the vehicles used for transporting animals are not roofed and they expose animals directly to the sun radiation. However, there is no information on the response of animals or on possible alternatives to ensure animal welfare, for cattle transported by transhumance and gravel roads for these methods are still common for transporting cattle to the markets or abattoirs in developing countries, especially in the Sub-Saharan African region. Animals are inevitably transported for long distances from rural markets to urban smallholder abattoirs, lengthy journeys place enormous demands for energy metabolism on the animal and may be the reason of depleted muscle glycogen pre and post-mortem thus, less lactic acid and consequently high beef pH post-mortem.

Slaughtering practices in much of Africa raise many animals’ welfare concerns. Typical practices at slaughter facilities include crowding animals into small holding pens, hitting them with sticks and prodding them with sharp objects to control their movement. Cruel and violent treatment of animals is not unusual at slaughter houses or abattoirs. Investigations in Africa have found cases of animals having their Achilles tendons cut to restrict their movement, animals having their eyes gouged, animals being stunned by being hit with hammers or axes, animals being killed in the presence of others, chickens being strangled, and animals and birds having their throats slit without being stunned.

In South Africa, ritual slaughtering during traditional ceremonies, especially in the Zulu culture and traditions, sparks a lot of controversy concerning animal rights and cultural practices. During marketing of cattle, animals are taken to abattoirs using various transport means. Animals are improperly loaded in trucks which are inappropriate, small, poorly ventilated, uncomfortable and even open to direct heat and rain. In addition, overcrowded trucks and on foot driving for long distances with untrained stockmen who use sticks and goads are common, where bruising is common.

Wild Animals

Most countries in Africa have a large number and variety of wildlife, including carnivores, herbivores, reptiles, birds, and primates, that live in the wild and in zoos or sanctuaries. Unlike domestic animals, however, there are no societal and cultural norms or set standards of care for wildlife. In most places there is such significant conflict between humans and wildlife (i.e. destruction of crops and transmission of disease between animals and humans) that the wildlife is considered to be a menace that should be destroyed. The control of wildlife in situations and/or areas that do not have official animal control services is often cruel and, in some instances, inhumane: Crude weapons, poisons, and traps are used to kill the animals. Some of the most common methods used to trap wildlife include pits dug into the ground containing sharp objects at the bottom (spikes), snares, nets, and hunting with dogs. With the emergence of a lucrative bush meat trade the killing of wildlife has gained momentum over the past ten years, and unless African countries collaborate to control the illegal trade of wildlife the wildlife populations are at risk of being decimated. The conservation of wildlife habitats is part of animal welfare; African countries need to develop and implement land use policies and a legal framework that takes into account the co-existence of wildlife, humans, and livestock.

The management of wildlife in South Africa is amongst the best in the world. There is a large wildlife conservation constituency in South Africa, where Welfare of wildlife is more important than other animal welfare in the country. South Africa is a wildlife rich country and the national parks are some of the biggest tourist attractions in the country. The regulations specifically prohibit hunting large predators and rhinoceros this way. In September 2005, the South African minister of environmental affairs and tourism presented norms and Standards for Elephant Management (SANP).

Companion Animals

The most common companion animals in Africa are the cat and the dog. Various species of primates and reptiles are also kept as pets. While legal statutes and societal and cultural norms have resulted in the establishment of standards of care for companion animals in some countries in Africa, the methods used to control stray and abandoned animals in urban areas are often cruel. The animals are either poisoned, using strychnine or other painful slow acting poisons, strangled, or killed by blows to the head with a hammer. Several countries in Africa have animal welfare organizations that take care of stray and abandoned animals, but the capacity of their facilities is limited [17-20].

From experiences of animal welfare organizations, of animal welfare authorities and of veterinarians it is known, that in practice often pet animals are not kept according to their biological needs and to scientific knowledge. Frequent faults in housing conditions of pet animals are in particular too small boxes or cages, therefore lifelong a lack of locomotion of the animals, unstructured boxes for small pet mammals, insufficient hiding possibilities for various pet species, single housing of very social animals such as guinea pigs, many pet birds and parrots, furthermore also insufficiently structured boxes for cats in cat shelters, inadequate feeding including overfeeding, and many other conditions. Many diseases in pet animals are the consequences of faults in housing.

Dogs receive little veterinary care in developing countries, which contributes to the spread of disease and high mortality among dogs. Only 40.5% of households surveyed in Zimbabwe said they would take their dogs to the veterinarian if they were ill; 12.8% would try to cure their dogs with traditional medicine; and the remainder would seek no treatment.

Discussion

Status of Animal Welfare in the Case of Ethiopia

Ethiopia was the country with highest livestock population in Africa at the end of the 20^th century. Ethiopia is a country with a high level of diversity in agriculture and with high amount of livestock resources. Although the country is developing and the economic condition is improving, animal welfare is a subject that so far has not gained much attention. Despite the fact the idea and the start dealing with animal welfare goes back to 1900’s in Ethiopia, still it has not yet been accomplished the main objectives of its work to be exercised. Few years before, it showed a progress and that hopefully will be ready within near future. At present, there are no legislations that protect animals from cruel actions by humans. However, there are a few organizations that work for animals’ situation but they mainly focus on homeless and/or injured animals, mostly donkeys. In Ethiopia there are no animal welfare regulations or any constitution that protects animals from suffering.

However, the Federal Negarit Gazeta of Ethiopia under the proclamation no. 267/2002 stated about the prevention and control of animal diseases. In this proclamation, the primary concern is to prevent and control animal diseases in order to maximize the benefits obtained from the extensive livestock resource by keeping the wellbeing or welfare of animals. Whereas the civil society organization stated as the Ethiopian government promotes nongovernmental societies to organize and work on animal welfare issues in the state.

The farm animals in most parts of the country are openly housed without appropriate shelter and are exposed for intensive direct sunlight and erratic summer rainfall. Animals will be forced to stay for long time in the market even for days without water and feed in harsh handling manner. Farm animals such as oxen generally subjected to plough for long period without having rest and supplied adequate feed and water. There is no appropriate vehicle and loading facilities and animal handling conditions were poor in general. In the country, animal welfare problems mostly seen in marketing places, during transporting, farming places, abattoir (slaughtering) houses, feeding areas, sheltering areas and watering places. Animals are transported from farms to market or other places usually by walking or by inappropriate vehicles (designed for goods transport).

Pet animals such as dogs are killed by poison inhumanly yearly for the sake of rabies control and prevention in most areas of the country. Draught animals along with humans provide an estimated 80% of the power input on farms in developing nations, like Ethiopia, but animals often suffer from maltreatment, overloading and inappropriate feeding during work period. Pack animals such as horses and donkey, especially the donkeys in Ethiopia are given low status and are consequently the most neglected animals. This resulted in multiple welfare problems associated with carrying overload weight for long distances without proper harnessing materials and inadequate feed and water provisions and suffering several lesions.

Animal handlers during transport and marketing are not trained and don’t have sufficient knowledge and understanding about the welfare of animals during transport and pre-transport and post-transport. However, Ethiopia also move a good step in integrating the animal welfare issues in the educational system (curriculum) in particular in at the university level, specifically in veterinary and animal science fields of study.

In order to improve animal welfare situation in Ethiopia, a first step is to outline guidelines for how animals are supposed to be housed, managed and taken care of with respect to their welfare status. This could be done either by developing policy frameworks in order to better address animal welfare issues, by monitoring for and reduce incidence of animal abuse, by increasing societal awareness of importance of animal welfare (education in school), by promoting training in animal welfare for veterinarians, farmers, people in agriculture and wildlife or lastly, by promoting and facilitate society’s involvement in and education about animal welfare issues.

Moreover, the establishment of the new ministry of livestock and fishery in Ethiopia by 2015, focused on mainly increasing the production of livestock to contribute up to 10% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) according to the Ethiopian herald news report. This new ministry office will hopefully contribute for the emanating of comprehensive animal welfare legislations and issues in the country in the future, which that supports there is high production after keeping animal welfare properly.

Challenges and Opportunities of Animal Welfare in Africa

In developing countries, poverty, resource scarcity, and education all factor into the way that animals are regarded and treated. In some cultures, certain animals may be accorded holy status, while other species are subject to extreme indifference and neglect. Economic systems and human values that place efficiency and profit above animal welfare led to the inhumane practices. There is little or no provision for animal welfare is made in the laws and regulations of most African countries.

Some factors that influence animal welfare during handling and transport are, the attitudes of stakeholders and their driving skills, laws and codes of practice, genetic differences between breeds, and different selection pressure, the design of vehicle for transport and design of equipment used for loading, the stocking density of animals and mixing of unfamiliar animals, payment of persons working with animals, the actual physical condition such as temperature, humidity and risk of disease transmission, the methods used during handling, loading and unloading.

The developing countries have lack of or inadequate, national policies related to animal welfare and weak institutional development and access to knowledge in animal welfare management.

Many countries across the world developed as well as developing countries have failed to implement the standards. Countries should not have animal welfare standards any lower than those of the OIE. A strong regulatory framework was also considered key. Animal welfare should be included in constitutions and national development plans and mainstreamed in the work of regional and international organizations. However, it was pointed out that work could begin with educating farmers even before the agreement of the policy framework.

However, a growing number of new laws and regulations covering the rearing, transport and slaughter of food animals, and even the costs of welfare assessment itself, impose costs on farmers who already have small financial margins. Rising costs put pressures on farmers to become more efficient and therefore potentially put animal welfare on a collision course with profitability.

Animal welfare is just as important to humans for reasons of food security and nutrition. Better management of, and care for, livestock can improve productivity and food quality, thereby helping to address nutritional deficiencies and food shortages as well as contributing to food safety. Higher animal welfare standards are also seen to be a prerequisite to enhancing business efficiency and profitability, satisfying international markets, and meeting consumer expectations.

Putting actual numbers on the costs and benefits of welfare improvements is, however, complicated by the fact that the livestock industry itself is changing rapidly and is likely to continue to do so. Two major sources of change, both of which are capable of radically altering the relationship between welfare and efficiency, are genetics and the technological control of animal environments.

Conclusion

Unlike developed countries, in developing countries the issue of animal welfare has in a less attention nowadays. The concern is normally based on the animals’ natural freedoms and respecting their right focusing on how animals are kept and managed. The animal welfare problems in developing countries like Africa are numerous and severe, with widespread violations of wellbeing. This is for several reasons, including resource constraints, low economic returns to investing in animal welfare, low non-use value of animals, and absence or non-enforcement of animal welfare regulations. However, there is spotlight of progress in different African countries like South Africa. Ethiopia, like most of the developing countries, has no compressive legislation, rules or regulations formulated to protect animals’ rights and prevalent poor animal welfare practices. Based on the above conclusion the following recommendations are forwarded.

Recommendations

• The awareness and education on animal welfare should be encouraged at different community levels and groups in developing countries.
• Developing, especially those of African, countries should adopt, customize and implement rules and regulation to endorse animal welfare in their country.
• In depth study on factors animal welfare perception and implementation should be carried out in developing context.

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