1st INTERNATIONAL PAN AFRICAN ANIMAL WELFARE ALLIANCE ...

Executive SummaryExecutive SummaryThe three day conference which was held between 2 nd – 4 th September 2013, in Nairobi,Kenya, was attended by a wide range of stakeholders drawn from over 21 African countries(Botswana, Cameroon, DR. Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, , Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Lesotho,Malawi, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania,Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe) together with representation from several othercountries outside Africa (USA, Germany, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Israeli, India,China) (List of participants Annexed)In addition to presentations and Keynote speeches in the plenary, two additional sessionswere held separately. InterNiche did an in-depth presentation on Alternatives to HarmfulUse of Animals in Educational Experiments and Teaching, and the other was a documentaryon The Effects of the Global Consumption and Food Production on Animals and HumanHealth.The conference attendees included a high level African Union (AU) delegation, a delegationfrom the Government of Kenya as well as representatives of the European Union and theOIE.At the end of the three day conference, the following commitments and action items werearrived at:The need to build political and professional good will with governments acrossAfrica, intergovernmental institutions, regional blocks committees, the AfricanUnion, OIE and AU-IBAR to fast track the development, implementation andenforcement of animal welfare policies, declaration and standardsPAAWA to operate a sustainable platform and forums through which stakeholderscan positively engage to generate evidence based information which will informpolicy and practicesPAAWA to engage governments and key stakeholders to conduct a survey andreport on the Status of Animal Welfare across AfricaThe need for PAAWA to spearhead the development of Regional Animal WelfareStrategies (RAWS)Due to the increasing poaching across Africa, there is need to enhance collectiveeffort to protect the animals and habitatEmphasize the need for governments to consider and recognize poaching as aneconomic crimeTo highlight the killing of animals for bush meat, which causes enormous sufferingand yet is often eclipsed by more newsworthy concerns, such as the currentelephant/rhino slaughter for poachingTo promote and explain animal welfare as a traditional African value, based on theperennial relationship that African communities have had with animals and nature.PAAWA to work with WSPA and the Planning Group of the Africa Declaration forAnimal Welfare, ADAW to advance the adoption of ADAW in Africa and strengthenits relations with the Africa Union and governmentsThe African Union reiterated that they will not just sign the MOU with PAAWA butReport of The 1 st International Pan African Animal Welfare Alliance (PAAWA) 2013 Page 5