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Basic Concepts

Animal Welfare in Development Cooperation

The welfare of animals has become a public concern and a cross-cutting issue in societies around the globe. This is, in part, a response to the pandemic, but it has also developed alongside increasing concern for One Health, food safety, and food security. It is a multi-faceted topic, which is shaped by the relationship humans keep with animals in their environment. Attitudes towards animals greatly differ between cultures, societies and individuals. Thus, certain science-based standards are necessary to enhance the quality of life of animals.

All interventions and project implementations that may have an impact, of any kind, on animals or their environment, should consider animal welfare in order to avoid the negative impact, but more importantly to promote the positive impact, on animals. 

The lives, and therefore the welfare, of animals and humans are interdependent. Yet, the welfare of animals has been neglected in international sustainable development goals (like the SDGs) and in the design and implementation of development cooperation projects.

We therefore need a new paradigm for development. New paradigms of development should take into account the perspective of animal welfare, which has moved from only reducing negative effects, to promoting contexts in which the quality of life for human and non-human animals improves and even thrives.

Including animal welfare in development cooperation is essential to make projects more sustainable as well as to foster a more holistic prosperity for the affected communities.


Welttierschutzstiftung (WTS)

WTS developed guidelines for the inclusion of animal welfare in the design and scope of development cooperation projects involving animals.
welttierschutzstiftung.org/WTS_Guidelines-for-Animal-Welfare-in-Development-Cooperation_2023.pdf


World Animal Net

The article stresses the urgent need to mainstream animal well-being and human-animal relationships in development cooperation.
worldanimal.net/images/stories/documents/AW_and_Development_Roles_and_Responsibilities.pdf