IMPLEMENTING THE DECLARATION OF THE
60TH ANNUAL DPI/NGO CONFERENCE
|
IMPLEMENTING THE DECLARATION OF THE 60TH ANNUAL DPI/NGO CONFERENCE |
|
|
|
The Impact of Climate Change on Livestock and Animal Welfare (Draft one of Recommendations Chapter) |
| ADMIN & EDITORS | CHAPTERS & WORKING GRPS | WELCOME |  |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Climate change is one of the single most
important threats to livestock and animals in general over the next century,
with potentially devastating results not only for the welfare of animals but
also for the people who depend upon them for a living, for food or cultural
identification. Our primary recommendation is that public policy
makers need to include veterinarians and animal welfare experts when drafting
development, risk reduction and disaster response policies, as well as provide
effective early warning, and evacuation resources.
The impact on livestock will be strong
anywhere temperatures rise, even by one degree. Increased ambient
temperatures will depress voluntary feed intake, as an example, reducing weight
gain, and lowering milk production. Although animals can adapt to higher
temperatures with prolonged exposure higher temperature will mean lower
production. That is especially important to note in the developing world
where so much of the economy depends on livestock. In
GOOD ANIMAL RELATED CLIAMTE CHANGE POLICY IS GOOD PUBLIC POLICY
About a billion of the world’s poorest people depend on animals for food, income, social status or cultural identification, as well as companionship and security. Disaster victims will also often protect their animals even to their own detriment. To them, losing animals is a catastrophe. In the developed world entire industries also depend on animals, making risk reduction and more effective response important tools to protect trade, culture and food security. As seen in the Hurricane Katrina disaster, protecting companion animals is also a consideration. While we recommend that animals be protected for their intrinsic value alone, given the world economic and cultural realities, policy makers in local and national governments, International Organizations and humanitarian aid agencies must also be encouraged to ensure that humanitarian disaster management is pursued in such a way that it reduces risks to both humans and animals. With effective planning and partners, this can be done at the same time, reduce poverty and hunger, and be an important contribution to cultural preservation and disease reduction -- all without reducing assistance to the human population. In areas prone to increased storm surges, this means either moving animals to higher ground in storm seasons or developing effective evacuation routes, transportation vehicles sometimes and certainly agriculturally related early warning system.
Climate change is certain to
cause an increase in chronic disasters like droughts, seasonal heat waves and
storms. Public policy makers
need to keep in mind that long term disasters can reduce the available water and
the viability of land for raising livestock of any kind. Stress on water
reserves in Africa and
IMPLEMENTING A
WORKABLE POLICY
Best practices must be
exercised and developed as a team effort between professional animal welfare and
humanitarian communities. Joint
exercises by
the humanitarian and animal welfare/relief communities, taking into account
local requirements and limitations will be very helpful so that the practices
fit the economic, political and social pressures of the real world. As an
example, linking early warning messages to needs of small cattle ranchers and
pastoralists.
BASIC RULES
1. Veterinarians and animal protection experts should be included in disaster assessment teams and their advice used in community disaster planning.
2. Humanitarian relief bodies and local governments should involve animal care groups such as international animal welfare relief NGOs to provide shelter, rescue and veterinary care and generally augment the humanitarian community -- as well as facilitate access to disaster sites by animal welfare experts.
3. Joint training between animal care and humanitarian relief workers will enhance the ability of both communities to work together and ensure a sustainable approach to disaster management at the least cost.
4. Practical indigenous techniques and economic, trade or social restrictions also need to be taken into account.
BUILDINGS
Animal shelters and veterinary clinics need to be high wind and shake resistant, and removed from areas prone to storm surge. Where possible, generators should be used to protect against the loss of electricity. As seen in Katrina, a failure to do this can mean poultry and other animals can otherwise die of heat.
EARLY WARNING AND
PREPAREDNESS
Although as in Hurricane
Katrina, inadequate response can be devastating, early warning and preparedness
can save lives and economies. Working
in conjunction with the Hyogo framework and the UN Platform on Early Warning,
agencies, governments and academia should join with animal welfare NGOs to
advance early warning and preparedness science and procedures particular to the
owners of animal populations, especially local pastoralists and farmers. Early
warning systems for animals should also be aligned with
national/provincial systems for human communities.
Early Warning systems can save significant numbers of livestock and property from impending disasters by:
· Creating awareness of risks a community is likely to encounter,
· Ensuring a constant state of preparedness,
· Guiding the community in implementing workable disaster prevention interventions such as building codes, road systems and placement of animals,
· Disseminating timely messages in a format that is understood by the local community.
PROPER ANIMAL EVACUATION POLICY RULES
1. Even with proper early warning, adequate resources must be available to evacuate animals, otherwise they may die or be stolen — a major loss to a fragile economy and a foundation for future conflict. Routes and sometimes vehicles need to be provided.
2. Sanitation and safety considerations restrict animals from camps yet disaster victims know their animals are their future and may refuse to enter camps without animals being provided for.
3. Whenever practical, areas adjacent to camps should be provided, perhaps maintained by the victims with help from animal care professionals.
4. While disaster victims should have the right to keep their animals, the introduction of new animals in a host community can be very damaging to the local economy, so a balanced policy is needed.
5. Animal welfare professionals should co-design with the humanitarian community policies and procedures to reduce losses from evacuations.
6.
Although often hard to do in
conflict situations or the developing world, successful evacuation of livestock
requires: (a) Understanding the threat, (b) Marking/identification of ownership
of animals, (c) Planning and clearing routes out of danger and to safety, (d)
People to manage and implement the process, (e) Fodder and water on route and at
point of refuge, (f) Prepared corrals with stockpiled/available fodder and
water, (g) Security to protect the animals from theft or abuse.
DISEASE PREVENTION
AND CONTROL
Veterinarians, veterinary services and other animal health and welfare professionals can reduce these risks in many practical ways. These include the provision of advice on basic health and hygiene requirements for livestock management and movement. Organizing “train the trainer” programs is a useful means of transferring knowledge from trained professionals to other people working within communities. Even in the face of a disaster, it is important to try and maintain disease prevention and control programs already established and to provide a basis for these to be adjusted to deal with the disaster event. Where slaughter of infected and at risk animals is a necessary part of controlling a disease, it should be carried out as humanely as possible, and in compliance with OIE standards. Vaccination programs to control certain diseases, supervised by the Official Veterinary Service, can also have a significant effect in preventing the introduction and spread of these diseases.
We expect to see massive movement of animal populations as climate change causes people to migrate to better supplies of water and food over the next century. Animals will be vulnerable to large scale disease outbreaks, having the potential to kill millions of animals and people and to devastate the economies of local communities and entire countries. These migrations are bound to be cross-border in nature, so Epizootics caused by climate change movement should be seen as potentially threatening the global livestock and poultry industries. Many of the emerging diseases that have recently crossed the human species barrier were of animal origin. Factors that contribute to the emergence and spread of animal diseases include:
· Malnutrition in animals, which we may see due to increased droughts and heat waves, as well as poverty,
· Changes in climate can increase parasitic diseases,
· Overcrowding of animals could reduce their natural resistance to disease
· Increasing numbers of animals kept under traditional husbandry systems without introduction of improved animal health promotion and disease prevention policy/techniques/education,
· Promotion of intensive farming without proper biosecurity (bioexclusion and biocontainment) practices in place,
· Increased contacts and exchange of microbial agents between wildlife and livestock on farms, during transportation and at market levels,
· Excessive numbers of pets, particularly dogs in certain countries, and of animal species used as pets.
COMPANION ANIMALS
ARE A SPECIAL CASE
In situations like Hurricane
Katrina where there is a strong link between companion animals and the human
population, preparedness is the key with animal care agencies supporting the
humanitarian organizations with animal accommodations, preferably near the
owners. To control security and
disease, rabies vaccination programs should be used as a minimum where this
disease is endemic. The reason this is important is because of the much higher density of disease vectors.
Humane stray dog control measures can be implemented to manage
populations in and near human camps. Where possible, companion animals should
always be evacuated, not simply be left behind to chance.
FOOD SECURITY
Livestock ownership is estimated to support and sustain the livelihoods of 700 million rural poor throughout the world. Livestock can provide a steady stream of food and revenue and help to raise overall farm productivity. For the poor and landless livestock is often the only livelihood option available. Animals allow them to exploit common property resources for private gain and often present the only means of asset accumulation and risk diversification that can prevent a slide into abject poverty. Livestock ownership also increases the essential consumption of protein and creates employment opportunities beyond the immediate household. Livestock are vulnerable to slow onset disasters such as drought, as well as acute disasters such as conflict, earthquakes, floods, storm surge and high wind events. If the risks are not managed, loss of livestock in such events can easily upset the delicate balance and trigger a humanitarian disaster.
POVERTY REDUCTION
Given the dependence of many people on livestock, introducing animal related disaster prevention and response measures should be a high priority of poverty reduction policy, keeping in mind the Hyogo framework and local resources.
Livestock are generally not
insured. If they are not protected from catastrophes, farmers and pastoralists
can lose their entire income and go into a cycle of debt. In many developing
countries, animals that bear cargo are also an important income source. In
Africa and in the
However, overstocked and
overgrazed land can contribute to drought-type disasters, so education in proper
land use should also be a part of an integrated poverty reduction plan.
In some regions with high population density and lack of crop lands, raising animals like poultry can be the difference between starvation and meeting minimal nutritional needs, between abject poverty and economic advancement.
For all these reasons, animal husbandry and handling are important. Poor husbandry or mishandling can create unhealthy, less productive animals, or even injuries and deaths.
