Nigeria (with an estimated 19.5 million cattle, 72.5 million goats, 41.3 million sheep, 7.1 million pigs and 28,000 camels) has the third largest population of livestock in Africa. Animal Welfare Society of Nigeria (AWSON) is a charitable association established in 2007 by a group of university lecturers and individuals concerned with animal welfare in Nigeria. The association actively engage in the promotion of animal welfare through education and training of animal health professionals.

This project consisted of setting up a training programme to train a large number Diploma students from Colleges of Agriculture across the country. The training was targeted at recent graduates of animal science and related fields from the Bauchi State College of Agriculture (BSCOA), Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), and Federal Polytechnic and Sa’adu Zungur University Bauchi (SZUB). About 90 students completed the online registration which exceeded our target number of 60 participants.

Twelve topics were carefully selected and the BSCOA assembly Hall and other facilities in the college were used for the training. At the end of the programme, 80 students successfully completed the 3-day training on  23 - 26 September 2024. These students acquired basic knowledge on the principles of Five Animal Needs, an understanding of  humane methods of animal restraint and humane slaughter methods, assessment of pains and distress in animals, as well as principles of animal behaviour.

The project has increased awareness of the participants that will bring about improved animal welfare in Nigeria. This will lead to improved field activities, transfer of knowledge to rural areas, better handling of animals, better management of animals, and improved animal welfare in general.

We consider this as a paradigm shift in achieving the objectives of AWSON. We still have a long way to go, and we will continue build on progress achieved. We hope to improve in coordination, collaboration, capacity building, and communication. We are grateful to University Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW) and WTS-Vets United for their support in conducting this training

https://albarkaradio.com/awson-president-reaffirms-commitment-to-animal-welfare-as-training-for-agricultural-students-kicks-off-in-bauchi/