1st INTERNATIONAL PAN AFRICAN ANIMAL WELFARE ALLIANCE ...

lawyers must critically analyze issues and not be driven by emotions. It is critical thatanimal welfare actors are clear about the context in which the animal law might succeed.Lessons on this can be drawn from the success of environmental protection laws.‘Corruption remains the leading hindrance to theimplementation of laws’Ofir Drori (LAGA of Cameroon)In the case of LAGA, Ofir Drori observed that the enormity of wildlife poaching inCameroon is deep rooted in national corruption. The trade revolves around organizedcorruption. The law in Cameroon exists, but it does not have impact because of corruption;LAGA had to rally support from several small organizations to carry out an effectivecampaign that has finally led to the arrest and conviction of several people on chargesrelated to wildlife crimes.Graham Richie and Ar Jan Van Houwelingen, both of WSPA, gave an update on theUniversal Declaration on Animal Welfare, an initiative of several animal welfareorganizations. Their concerted attempt now is to get the United Nations to adopt thisUniversal Declaration, much along the same lines as other declarations such as theUniversal Declaration on Human Rights. To date the campaign has attracted the support of66 countries. Sadly, none of them is from Africa. This is an area in need of strong advocacybecause as a member of some of the most powerful UN voting Blocs, Africa is central to theadoption of UDAW.Graham and ArJan requested PAAWA to be more actively engaged, emphasizing that it is agreat opportunity for PAAWA to get involved by influencing the AU to adopt the UDAW.This way, they argued, the Africa version of the declaration would be easier to adopt. Theproposed Africa Declaration on Animal Welfare (ADAW) by PAAWA should therefore buildon and compliment the work of UDAW. WSPA and the UDAW team are developing aregional strategy with the hope of getting the UN General Assembly’s 194 member states toadopt it.Fundraising and Networking OpportunitiesPresentation1. Fundraising and Resource Mobilization Strategies – Richard Male,- President,Richard Male and AssociatesMr. Male expanded on the pre-conference workshop for raising funds in an increasinglycompetitive environment. He related best practices using current examples of successfulfund raising strategies. The emphasis for grant making from foundations and corporationswas to be smart about research for a good fit and to remember “people give money topeople”.Report of The 1 st International Pan African Animal Welfare Alliance (PAAWA) 2013 Page 20