At a conference jointly organised by the Animal Welfare Initiative and various stakeholders in the veterinary industry, stakeholders in the industry focused on the advocacy for humanness toward animals, stressing the need for effective welfare practices towards animals. FRANCIS ADINOYI KADIRI, who was at the conference, reports
Stakeholders in the veterinary profession led by the national coordinator of the Animal Welfare Initiative, Professor GarbaHamiduSharubutu, have called for behavioral change toward animals stating that animals should be accorded the regard they deserve.
Professor Sharubutu who is also president of the Veterinary Council of Nigeria gave led the advocacy at a stakeholder’s conference organised to commemorate the World Veterinary Day recently in Abuja.”It is bad to unnecessarily deprive animals of the freedom to exist as creations of God,” he said, adding that even religious and cultural teachings show that animals should be treated with sue regard.
According to Sharubutu who is a professor of veterinary medicine, “God created animals for certain purposes and human beings should treat animals without underscoring that purpose.”
Further defending the objective, Sharubutuopined the fact that animals are not human beings does not mean that they should be subjected to painful treatments, adding that the approach toward animals in developed countries is a lot more positive than the situation in Africa, particularly Nigeria.
Sharubutu who is a frontline advocate for animal welfare said the AWI was formed in response to the need to chart a course for change in peoples behavior to animals in Nigeria. He said as long as the animals live together with human beings, they have a right to survive, a right to fair treatment, in terms of housing, transportation, feeding and behavior.
According to him, the focus of 2O14 world veterinary day is to educate the public on the need to be fair to animals. The world veterinary day will be an all round event that will be felt across the country. Sharubutu disclosed that a new strategy aimed at improving animal welfare in Nigeria has been evolved by the council and stakeholders stating that sensitizations visits will be conducted across all the states in the country.
The difference between the freedom of human beings and the freedom of animals lies in the sentiments that we attach to the human being. We have to cultivate a positive sentiment to the animals also. When an animal dies, hardly does anybody cares about it. Those who care about it may do so only because it is worth some money, not because they love it.
This happens even in the vet practice because some veterinarians perform surgeries on animals and thereafter neglect the sick animal. Some people load animals in bad conditions. We have to develop positive attitude and sentiment to animals so that it will help them live better and consequently fulfill more satisfactorily the purposes for which they are created.
In his charge, the dean of the department of veterinary medicine at the University of Abuja, Professor James Ameh, who was represented by his deputy, Dr. Samuel Mailafia stressed the need to prioritise animal welfare in principle and practice stating that “it is very significant especially in a developing country like Nigeria.” He called for increased synergy among academic institutions especially in the area of animal welfare toward ensuring that it is institutionalized in the country.
“Animals have blood, they have capacity to feel pains, and they also have moods which can be perceived,” said Lora B Davis an American animal health expert who has served for five yearsat the United States Center for Disease Control in Nigeria. Lora, who was a guest speaker at the occasion lamented that the attitude toward animals in the United States was a lot better than here in Nigeria.“In the United States, people have been jailed for maltreating animals. In Nigeria that has not happened. Measures have to be taken to step up welfare of our animals,” she said.
The sector commander, FCT Command of the FRSC,Corp Commander Susan Ajenge who was represented by the sector’s head of operations, DaudaBakori revealed that the failure of traders and motorists to responsibly transport animals has been a major cause of road accidents in Nigeria. According to the Road Safety official, “animal welfare is directly related to safety of lives and properties on Nigerian highways.”
While saying that the mode of transportation of animals calls for concern, she called on the National Automotive Council to evolve an automotive specifically designed for the safe transport of animals in Nigeria as a strategy to avert accidents on highways while also making life better for animals.
“They are loaded as if they are not valued,” she stated, adding that the animal control act of 1998 stipulates how animals should be transported. She however lamented that people fail to comply.
“I have seen a man who tried to transport a cow using a starlet,” she said, adding that it created a condition that was unbearable for the cow. “The loading of animals is very bad. Ordinarily when traders overload a vehicle, and the try to make a bend, it results in accident because the load is too much for the axle of the vehicle.
The federal ministry of agriculture needs to strongly collaborate with the national automotive council to ensure that vehicles are not overloaded with animals.
According to her, there is need to enact a legislation that should cater for transportation of animals. She said animals which have horns should not be mixed with the ones that have no horn especially when transporting them, adding that the federal ministry of agriculture, Standards Organization of Nigeria and the National Automotive Council should jointly evolve a design that will cater for responsible transportation of animals.
The sector commander warned motorists to be cautious of road signs signaling animals crossing.“Take note of animals that cross the roads,” and motorists should know that while driving, they have the first responsibility to care for animals because animals may be intelligent, but you don’t always expect them to know when to cross the road.
“Nomads should not beat animals for fun.When a vehicle carrying animals is moving at night, if it flashes its light to view the distance ahead and observes clogged colours, drivers should slow down because the colours show that an animal ahead,” the FRSC official said, stating that the eyes of animals when flashed with a light is reflective of colours.” She however lamented that it has happened that driver’s crash into animals as a result of recklessness.
