Executive Summary

The main animal welfare legislation in Niger is the Framework Law relating to Animal Husbandry No. 2004-048. This legislation prohibits the mistreatment of domestic animals and refers to the psychological wellbeing of animals. Decree 98-925 governs the functioning of zoos, which can only operate with a licence. Law 98-07 governs the hunting regime and forbids some of the cruellest forms of hunting, such as hunting using poison or explosives. Since the API was first published in 2014, no major change in Niger’s animal welfare legislation has been found.

However, there is room for improvement in many domains related to animal welfare. The country’s legislation does not explicitly recognise animal sentience. There is no comprehensive duty of care from animal owners onto their animal, as Law No. 2004-048 only provides basic anti-cruelty provisions. Furthermore, such anti-cruelty provisions are only applicable to domestic animals. There is a lack of legislation surrounding the rearing of various farm animal species. Cruel practices, such as the commercial captive breeding of wild animals and the production of fur are allowed. Furthermore, stray animals can be lawfully culled. There is also a lack of detailed, species-specific legislation with regards to the treatment of wild animals in captivity and animals used for scientific research.

Existing animal protection laws form part of the Rural Code that is monitored and overseen by the National Committee on the Rural Code. However, Law No. 2004-048 does not attribute overall responsibility for animal welfare to a single Ministry or government entity; there is only a reference to the Ministry in charge of animal husbandry.

The Government of Niger is urged to enshrine animal sentience in existing animal protection legislation, define animal welfare in line with the OIE standards, and fully prohibit animal cruelty for all categories of animals recognised as sentient. Further animal welfare provisions will stem from this recognition of sentience. In particular, the Government of Niger is urged to ban the worst forms of confinement for animals reared in farming, and to mandate humane slaughter for all livestock animal species. In addition, the Government of Niger is strongly encouraged to fully ban fur farming, which is inherently cruel and causes pain, distress and suffering to animals. The Government of Niger is urged to outlaw the culling of stray animal populations, and to implement spay-and-neuter campaigns as a tool to control stray animal populations. The Government of Niger is also strongly encouraged to ban the use of all animals for entertainment, in circuses for instance. Overall, the Government of Niger is strongly encouraged to align its current legislation with OIE animal welfare standards. Responsibility for animal welfare should be allocated to a Ministry, and a specific government body should enact and assess the implementation of animal protection legislation. Such a government body should include representatives from animal welfare organisations. Further legal and policy recommendations are associated with each Animal Protection Index (API) indicator and contained in the relevant sections of this report.