Don't treat them like animals": animal welfare in Ugandan and Nigerian regulatory paradigms

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Date
2017
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Panamaline Books Distributors Limited
Abstract
In countries where certain human rights are considered privileged luxuries, it is considered a given in official circles that animal rights should take backstage. In Uganda and Nigeria, animal welfare laws dating back to colonial period are essentially about prevention of cruelty to animals viewed in a restricted way and are not couched in terms of a comprehensive set of animal rights. Prevention of cruelty against animals, in its restricted sense, is only an aspect of several rights animals should enjoy particularly under the relevant international instruments to which both countries are parties. The provisions of Ugandan Animals (Prevention of Cruelty) Act, cap 220, 1957 and Part 7 of Nigerian Criminal Code dealing with cruelty against animals are phrased in almost identical terms and do not reflect animal rights in a comprehensive manner. It is within this limited matrix that the regulatory authorities operate. Even at that, the institutional framework provided by Ugandan Animals (Prevention of Cruelty) Act, for example, does not form an organized paradigm that is well constituted to deal with cruelty against animals. The Act refers to ‘authorised officers” and defines that to include, among others, any administrative officer, a term that can refer to officials in any ministry or government agencies. The Act also refers to the position of minister but does not define which minister is in charge of cruelty against animal. The minister of Environment, by law in Uganda as in Nigeria, is the supervisory minister for animals in ecological context particularly wild animals. The minister of Agriculture, also by law in both countries, deals with animal related issues. So who of these two ministers is obliged to act in roles provided by the Act? The convulated institutional and regulatory paradigms is one of the reasons there is problem of enforcement of relevant animal laws in both countries. The more serious reason is that poor animal welfare governance as reflected in law and practice in many countries is down to a more serious issue of poor official attitude to animals which seems to suggest that animals may not really have rights. This paper will discuss these regulatory paradigms and make relevant suggestions not only on the regulatory paradigms but also on the need for a more comprehensive animal rights system in both countries.
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Keywords
animals, animals law, Uganda laws, Nigerian laws, animal care
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