Animal welfare is often seen as a western concept no wonder there are several narratives about Animal Welfare associated with Africans. Such Narratives include
- Most people viewing Africa as a continent that only responds well to politics of ‘food and poverty’- This could mean that people keep animals for quality and quantity. Or simply keeping them for basic needs and income for development.
- Secondly, Africans are believed to be keeping animals in order to realize their needs.
These two statements however could be true to some extent due to the following reasons;
Animal welfare is a critical determinant of the community welfare in the society. Proven statistics show that humans are 70% dependent on animals in ways such as;
- Wealth Creation
Animals are a great source of wealth and generation of income. From products such as meat, milk, eggs, hides and skins.
- Livelihoods
It is from animals that we get food. With the increase in human population, the demand for animal products has gone high for reasons such as plant feedstuffs not being able to sustain the growing population.
Nevertheless, animals welfare needs to be observed , not only for what animals have to offer but because they are also sentient beings who deserve to be well taken care of, despite of what they have to offer.
