While international development organizations contribute extensively to human welfare in the Global South, they don’t often consider animal welfare in their programs or their policy advice to governments. This is despite the impact their services have on animals. For example, they may fund the construction of animal farming facilities that cause severe welfare issues or supply farmed animals directly to people without providing the necessary guidance on how to care for them.

Not only can poor welfare standards cause animals extreme and unnecessary suffering, but they can adversely affect the organizations’ reputations and funding. They can lower the lifespans and productivity of animals, which, in turn, can harm human health and well-being through disease transmission and reduced economic return. Poor welfare standards can also contribute to larger carbon footprints hurting the planet.

Recognizing the need for higher welfare standards, in 2021, researchers circulated an online survey among international development organizations with projects in Africa to determine what was already being done for animal welfare in the region. Given the low response rate of 13% and uncertainty over whether the survey responses reflected actual practice, one of the team, a veterinarian, made in-person visits to four development projects — two in Uganda, one in Rwanda, and one in Kenya. At each site, they clinically assessed the animals and their surroundings and held discussions about animal care with their guardians.

These visits revealed that not only was animal welfare worse than indicated in the survey responses, but there was a serious need for practical animal welfare guidelines for these kinds of projects. A webinar was then hosted for the international development organizations to determine whether the World Organization for Animal Health’s existing welfare standards were suitable. However, the feedback showed that these standards were too general and complicated to be useful.

In response, the researchers drafted animal welfare guidelines that offer more practical advice and are project-focused rather than country-focused. They also include a means for holding people accountable to the standards. After gaining feedback from veterinary boards in Tanzania, Uganda, Nigeria, Botswana, and Ethiopia, the researchers presented their draft guidelines at the Africa Animal Welfare Conference in Botswana in 2022. This conference had representatives from over half of Africa’s Ministries of Agriculture, as well as African, U.S., and European non-governmental organizations and academics.

Based on the comments from these diverse stakeholders, the guidelines were further improved. Finally, 77 delegates from African, European, and U.S. animal welfare charities, African development organizations, and animal-related government ministries all signed a petition to approve the guidelines. Thus, they achieved consensus support.

The guidelines apply to animals commonly used in development projects in the Global South, like cows, goats, sheep, pigs, donkeys, camels, and chickens, whether the animals are used for food, breeding, or scientific research. They build on what are known as the “Five Freedoms” that underpin animal welfare legislation around the world:

1. Freedom from hunger and thirst, by ready access to fresh water and a diet to maintain full health and vigor;
2. Freedom from discomfort, by providing an appropriate environment including shelter and a comfortable resting area;
3. Freedom from pain, injury, and disease, by prevention or rapid diagnosis and treatment;
4. Freedom to express normal behavior, by providing sufficient space, proper facilities, and company of the animal’s own kind; and
5. Freedom from fear and distress, by ensuring housing and husbandry which minimize suffering.

The guidelines provide best practice stipulations covering multiple topics. Firstly, there are standards for the international development organizations themselves. These include the need for:

• Standard operating procedures
• Institutional governance to oversee and monitor the guidelines’ implementation and address welfare issues
• Staff training to ensure appropriate handling and understanding of the guidelines
• Comprehensive record-keeping for all animals

The guidelines go on to stipulate how animals should be cared for, including:

• Safe water and quality food
• Safe and appropriate housing that offers enough space and outdoor time
• Enrichment of the animals’ daily lives
• Avoiding social isolation of the animals
• Minimizing noise and light pollution as relevant for different species
• Health and safety considerations such as adequate drainage, waste disposal, and disease prevention
• Pain management and avoiding invasive procedures
• Secure transport without coercion and with rest stops for longer journeys
• Breeding standards
• Use of appropriate stunning techniques for slaughter

Organizations are asked to use animal welfare assessment tools and to create contingency plans to help minimize animal suffering. They’re discouraged from continuing or starting new projects where animal welfare needs aren’t met.

Guidelines like these are integral for ensuring that high standards of animal welfare are maintained across organizations and countries. They’re a long time coming too since the passage of the world’s first animal welfare legislation back in 1822 in the United Kingdom. It’s crucial now for animal advocates to be aware of these basic but fundamental welfare standards and to encourage international development organizations working in the Global South and elsewhere to fully adopt them into daily practice. This will benefit animals in many life-changing ways, as well as helping human stakeholders.