Animal Welfare Advocates

The group travels together with their teacher Dr Kebba Daffeh (Project manager WTS Gambia) to the most remote areas of the country several times a year. Most of the people there make their living from animal farming, but there is also a lack of basic veterinary care. During their visits, the young Animal Welfare Advocates treat the farm animals for free and advise the animal owners on simple preventive measures. Through theatre plays in the local language, animal welfare knowledge is shared in an understandable and enjoyable way. Furthermore, the group produces a weekly nationwide broadcast, where they report about the latest animal welfare topics in the various different languages of Gambia. The activists are also frequently present on national TV.

Thanks to the students‘ commitment, animal welfare has become a highly discussed topic in The Gambia within a short period of time and the first successes have been achieved on a political level. Due to pressure from AWAA, in 2019 the outdated Animal Health law from 1948 was updated and an Animal Welfare Regulation was added. Celebrities from The Gambia have supported AWAA’s concerns, such as the famous musician Jaliba Kuyateh, who now makes Animal Welfare a subject of his music.

After only 4 years, the association has already counted over 700 members. Most of them have attended the VETS UNITED course held by Dr. Daffeh. WTS supported Animal Welfare Advocates for the first time during their Nationwide Sensitization Tour in September 2019. The volunteers visited 15 villages in 5 regions to treat animals, to inform and to advocate for more animal welfare awareness.