Animal rights activists have called on climate ambassadors to make animal welfare part of the discussion at the ongoing Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi, Kenya.

World Animal Protection and partners called upon African governments and the Africa Climate Summit to acknowledge the climate and environmental impact of unsustainable livestock production systems and push for the adoption of a transition to humane, sustainable and regenerative livestock production systems.

Animal rights activists noted that factory farming is almost always overlooked as the climate culprit within the agriculture sector, yet it is factory farming that rips down forests to plant crops for animal feed – releasing carbon into the atmosphere.

“It is factory farming that devastates wildlife habitats, displaces local communities and profits from the cruel treatment of billions of farmed animals each year,” they said in a pre-climate week media briefing on Thursday in Nairobi.

According to Tennyson Williams, the director for Africa at World Animal Protection, there is a link between animal agriculture and climate change, and this discussion should not be overlooked during climate discussions.

Ismael Faheny, the advisor for water and environmental management in the office of the President of Kenya. (Courtesy photo)

“We ask them to endorse sustainable livestock farming practices, embrace African traditional food systems, and prioritize local communities' needs as part of sustainable practices that can guarantee a safer future.”

Dr Huyian Ahmend Salih, the Director of the African Union - InterAfrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU – IBAR), noted that large-scale deforestation, habitat degradation and fragmentation, agriculture intensification, dilapidating livestock production and trade in animal species and plants are drivers of biodiversity loss and the emergence of new diseases.

She called for strong interlinkage between animal welfare, environment and socio-economic development and emphasized the need to place Animal Welfare at the centre stage of the Global Environment Agenda and Sustainable Development.

Ismael Faheny, the advisor for water and environmental management in the office of the President of Kenya, while receiving the communique, said it has been proven beyond doubt that sustainable and regenerative agriculture measures, designed to put farmers at the centre can improve livestock yields and turn farmland and pastures into carbon sinks, reverse forest loss, optimize the use of nitrogen-based fertilizers, and rethink global and local supply chains to be more sustainable.

Kenya is co-hosting the inaugural Africa Climate Summit (ACS) with the Africa Union Commission in Nairobi from September 4th – 6th, 2023.

The Summit provides a platform to deliberate on the link between climate change, Africa’s development reality, and the need to push for increased investment in climate action globally and specifically in Africa.