Following the cruel and inhumane treatment of animals, African governments and people have been asked to enact proper legislation in order to ensure animal welfare in their representative countries.

This was during the world’s marking of the International Day for Biological and Biodiversity under the theme celebrating 25 years of action for biodiversity.

The Director World Animal Protection Tennyson Williams says that although Africa’s population is dependent on Agriculture, with increasing dependency on Animal protein, billions of animals on the continent are still suffering.

Tennyson Williams noted that many African Countries lack proper legislation on animal welfare which hampers enjoyment of animal freedoms and hence a need for individual countries to come up with National  Animal welfare strategies to tie with the recently signed Animal Welfare Strategy for Africa.

Williams also called upon governments to ensure a 10% of their National Budget allocated to the Agriculture sector and subsequently the responsible ministry also devotes 60% of that allocation to crop production and 40% to animal production.  He said majority of countries on the continent allocate less than 2% of their budgets to Animal production despite its importance to human survival.

Dr. Victor Yamo a veterinary doctor with World Animal Protection expressed dismay over the transportation of animals like cattle and chicken to markets, saying this not only undermines animal freedoms but also affects the quality of final products on the market.