Animal welfare, human health and climate change: Why FG must take action now

For some time now, I have been promoting laying hens’ welfare under the name of my organisation, known as Animal Protection Organisation of Nigeria. For the past two years, we have been calling for the eradication of battery cages due to the menace it contributes to human and environmental health, laying hen welfare and surrounding wildlife.

Today, several countries are ditching confinement of hens in battery cages because research has pointed to critical issues that needs urgent attention. For futuristic nations, moving ahead other nations in all ramifications is a core value. COP26 as you may know revealed the effect of factory farming on the planet and all we need to do to savage the situation. Going forward matters a lot and only wise nations who understands the concept of climate resilience and animal welfare and how they all tie together with social justice, will make the big-break.

My opinion centres on the connection between animal welfare, human health and climate change and why this is the time for Nigerian government to take drastic actions to mitigate impeding dangers when the opportunity is still available.

 

Have you ever heard of super bug?

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), this condition will affect over 50million people globally in few years to come. Super bug is resistance to antibiotics caused by misuse and overuse of antibiotics on farmed animals, which ends up in human body through regular consumption of farmed animals and their products. To overturn this situation, I suggest intensive research into organic medicine remedy than orthodox medicine. Secondly, government agencies and non-governmentalorganizations should work together to enforce existing welfare regulation and brainstorm new ideas towards improving established regulations through reforms, research and strategy.

As more cages are removed and replaced with free range systems in Europe, more chickens in Africa will suffer confinement as the huge numbers of battery cages banned in Europe end up in Africa, where battery cages thrives like wildfire. Animals are suffering in Africa because there are no adequate welfare measures in place for the non-human animals. This calls for concern as lack of adequate welfare may infringe on human health bearing in mind super bug as explained above. To mitigate this, government should enact anti caging laws and make if effective immediately. This action will save millions of birds from the pains and diseases caused by bird cages, like, acute respiratory disease and cage layer fatigue.

A free range poultry system which we are craving for will end chicken abuse, antimicrobial resistance, reduce methane emissions and other menaces. In this typical farming systems, birds behaves more naturally as there are enough space for them. The large expanse of land allows perching, foraging, stretching, nesting, sand bathing etc.

My delving into animal welfare advocacy goes beyond my love for animals. Animal sentient simply means an understanding of man that all animals share almost same instinct as us.

Animals are sentient beings in that, they feel pain, emotional, respond to stimulus, fear, etc. Just as we do. Researchers have come out with evidence to buttress this fact. Now, how many people know this? I’m sure it’s only just a few. In modern animal advocacy, it is believed that the major intent of animal Protection is born out of the understanding and recognition of animal sentient. No longer due to a personal love for animals. It goes beyond that now!

Another reason why we do what do is because Nigerian government, as with other countries, recognises animal sentient. For this reason, we shall always use this as a reference point in the discharge of work, even though the Nigerian government has not made it applicable. But we believe with time and with our constant pressure, the animal Law reform will enhance social justice for animal beyond what it is currently, as enshrined in the criminal code.

In addition, we do this for the health benefits of the people. Imagine devouring eggs or meat from a poor production systems, the possibility of contacting salmonella from a filthy poultry or tuberculosis from an infected cow or consuming antibiotics infested fish is 99%. Animal welfare is crucial in ensuring the food is safe for consumption. Not everyone understands this concept. This is why we take this issue very seriously for the overall benefits of man and animals. Our ongoing cage-free campaign is aimed at ensuring that hens get the best form of welfare standard while ensuring safe and quality eggs are produced.

Furthermore, ensuring a safe haven for all life forms is what we pride ourselves in. The call for climate action globally, is never more needed than now. Animal agriculture or otherwise called ‘factory farming’ is one of the major cause of climate change. Large gasses (methane) from ammonia emits from farm and the long-term effect of this huge emission is ozone layer depletion.

I hereby call on everyone to join us not just to create a better world for animals but also to sustain it.

Joseph Odika is the Executive Director of Animal Protection Organization of Nigeria (APON) and he writes from Ibadan, Oyo State.

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