Executive Summary

Ethiopia’s Criminal Code No. 414/2004 bans cruel treatments being inflicted on animals in public places. It is also an offence to organise shows or entertainment events during which animals are treated with cruelty – the Criminal Code explicitly mentions animal fights and the captive shooting of animals.

Though it is positive that animal cruelty is prohibited in the Criminal Code, there is a lack of overarching animal welfare legislation in Ethiopia. The country’s legislation does not recognise animal sentience, and there is a lack of basic protection for animals. Notably, there is no duty of care onto animal owners. There is also a lack of legislation regarding the conditions of rearing, transport and slaughter of farm animals, as well as the humane treatment of stray animals. Furthermore, the country allows for the use of animals for fur farming and entertainment purposes, such as circuses.

The Ministry of Agriculture in Ethiopia is responsible for implementing farm animal legislation; however, legislation is focused on animal health rather than animal welfare. In 2018, the Lower House of Ethiopia’s Parliament approved the merging of the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources with the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries.  The Forest and Wildlife Conservation and Development Authority has the responsibility to implement legislation with regards to natural resource management, including issues affecting wildlife and unlawful hunting. There is no Ministry with direct responsibility for animal welfare, nor any committee or government body dedicated to improving animal welfare.

The Government of Ethiopia is urged to enact a comprehensive animal welfare legislative act that would enshrine animal sentience, define animal welfare in line with the OIE standards, and prohibit animal cruelty in private places. Further animal welfare provisions will stem from this recognition of animal sentience. In particular, the Government of Ethiopia 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 Ethiopia is strongly encouraged to fully ban fur farming, which is inherently cruel and causes pain, distress and suffering to animals. The Government is also 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 is furthermore strongly encouraged to ban the use of all animals for entertainment, in circuses for instance. Overall, the Government of Ethiopia is strongly encouraged to align its current legislation with OIE 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.