The 7th Animal Welfare Conference-2023

The 7th Africa Animal Welfare Conference (AAWC) – Action 2023 was held in Kigali, Rwanda and jointly hosted by United Nations Environment Program, the African Union – Inter African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR), the Africa Network for Animal Welfare (ANAW) and the Rwanda government through the Ministry of Agriculture. It drew in veterinarians, animal welfare practitioners, researchers, diplomats, academia, civil society organizations, multi-national agencies, and representatives from the government of Rwanda. The conference theme for 2023 was titled’ ‘Navigating the delicate balance of animal welfare, climate change and development: concerted actions towards a healthy and sustainable environment.’

Opening remarks on behalf of UNEP was delivered by Ulf Bjornholm, Chief, Civil Society Unit, United Nations Environment Programme

He acknowledged the support of the Rwandan government and gave his personal career inspiration from Rio Conference outcomes that sowed the seed for SDG goals of sustainability. He noted the gap in the animal welfare and rights issue and the need to curtail animal cruelty. For lasting achievements, there is need to explore issues around ethics and spirituality which remain largely unexplored.

Keynote Address and Official Opening: Dr Olivier Kamana, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources, Republic of Rwanda.

On behalf of the stated presenter, he spoke on behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture. He highlighted the place of animals in the lives of the people. Animals as a means of livelihood, dietary resource and wealth protection which is a significant factor in socio-economic development. He observed that the topic was timely due to rapid changes in climate, and diet. There was a call for stakeholders to look at modest means of ameliorating the negative balance of the three pronged approach to development which should have minimal imbalance to nature. Participants were left with two questions to ponder: What is relation for mass feeding and industrial agriculture and What are the Economic drivers for Donkey Trade?