Animals matter. They can feel pain and can suffer, and we all have a responsibility to put an end to cruelty to animals wherever we find it.
The ANIMALS MATTER TO ME campaign is part of a government-led initiative to persuade the United Nations to adopt a Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare, similar to earlier initiatives in the sphere of human rights and the environment.
Five UN member states (Costa Rica, Kenya, India, Czech Republic and the Philippines) have already formed a steering group committed to taking the initiative forward to the United Nations.
A number of leading animal welfare organizations are members of a core working group to help promote this initiative. They include Compassion in World Farming (CIWF), the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA), the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), and Humane Society International (HSI).
In principle, the Universal Declaration will call on the United Nations to recognize animals as sentient beings, capable of experiencing pain and suffering, and to recognize that animal welfare is an important part of the social development of all nations.
Billions of animals around the world are affected by humans, and they rely on people to treat them with compassion. But there is only some national and little international protection for animals when that concern is absent.
The scale of suffering for animals in the world today is unprecedented.
- Around 60 billion farm animals are used each year globally to produce meat, milk and eggs. The majority are raised in industrial farming systems, in which their basic welfare needs are not met.
- Globally, there are some 600 million dogs, and a similar number of cats, of which an estimated 80 percent are stray or unwanted.
- The value of the illegal and often inhumane trade in wildlife and wildlife parts is soaring. This black market is estimated to be worth $10 billion a year, exceeded only by arms and drug smuggling. Millions of wild animals are killed, captured or traded inhumanely as part of this shady business.
- An estimated 80 percent of power input on farms in developing countries is supplied by working animals; however the resources made available for these animals' care are often woefully inadequate, leading to significant welfare issues.
- Animals are also affected on a huge scale by natural disasters, though they are seldom considered in relief efforts.
Improving animal welfare can improve the welfare of the more than a billion people who depend on animals for their livelihoods. People rely on animals' companionship as well, and in many cases animals are considered part of the family. Extending compassion toward animals often has positive effects on people, too.
Global problems require global solutions. Arriving at a consensus on the importance of animals would help shape people's attitudes toward animals, thereby encouraging more compassionate actions. A Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare would have a real, long-term impact on the welfare of billions of animals worldwide.
