WAN has long been supporting the work by the African Union Interafrican Bureau of Animal Resources (AU IBAR)’s work in developing a continent-wide animal welfare strategy, and we’re pleased to announce that in January this strategy was formally endorsed by African heads of state. This is a huge step for animals, as Africa was the last continent without a formalized Regional Animal Welfare Strategy. Even better, the mission of Africa’s strategy envisions an “an Africa where animals are treated as sentient beings.”
WAN is pleased to announce a new resource on our website! This is “Best Practice for Animal Welfare Development and Implementation", which pulls together some of the Best Practice (or more accurately “Best Available Practice”!) on animal welfare in order to help a wide range of stakeholders to incorporate animal welfare in their work.
WAN’s Janice Cox has just played a part in helping to shape the first Regional Animal Welfare Strategy (RAWS) covering Africa. Every continent but Africa has now agreed on a RAWS, leaving Africa lagging behind. However, the process is now off to a start, thanks to the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), an African Regional Economic Community (REC) representing eight eastern African countries including the horn of Africa. IGAD is now the first REC in Africa to validate a RAWS.