Tamale: Mr Abdul Rahman Safian, Executive Director of the West African Centre for the Protection of Animal Welfare, has underscored the need for Ghana's Reset Agenda to incorporate animal welfare as a critical pillar of national development. Mr Safian, who made the call in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Tamale, said any meaningful attempt to reset the country's economy, institutions, and social systems would be incomplete without addressing how animals are treated across the agricultural value chain.
According to Ghana News Agency, Mr Safian stated, "A society cannot claim to be advancing in development and morality while turning a blind eye to the silent suffering of animals." He highlighted that the transportation of animals from farms to markets and slaughterhouses in Ghana often involves avoidable cruelty. Animals are frequently transported in overcrowded trucks without food, water, or rest, leading to exhaustion, dehydration, injuries, and sometimes death before arrival.
He further explained that those animals that survive the journey are sometimes beaten, dragged, or forced into tight spaces, reflecting not only individual cruelty but also systemic gaps in regulation and education. Humane slaughter practices, such as proper stunning, are not consistently applied, causing animals to endure unnecessary pain in their final moments.
Mr Safian emphasized that poor animal welfare practices have implications beyond ethics, affecting both public health and the economy. Stress in animals triggers the release of hormones that can reduce meat quality, shorten shelf life, and increase contamination risks. He warned that poor hygiene in handling the animals during slaughter could facilitate the spread of zoonotic and foodborne diseases.
He pointed out that the country lacks comprehensive legislation to effectively criminalise animal cruelty across the livestock value chain and reminded the government to establish a dedicated institutional body within the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to be responsible for animal welfare. "This gap makes it difficult to monitor progress and enforce standards, leaving animal welfare as an afterthought rather than a development priority," he said.
Mr Safian urged Parliament to enact comprehensive animal welfare laws to criminalise cruelty in the transportation, handling, housing, and slaughter of animals. He also called for investment in humane infrastructure, including well-designed livestock markets and slaughterhouses with adequate space, water, and proper equipment.