The welfare of humans and animals is equally important and deeply interconnected. Providing good nutrition and veterinary care to animals is a key part to maintaining human food supply and preventing the spread of diseases, thereby safeguarding both human and animal health, and the wider ecology.
By looking after the health of livestock, our Animal Welfare programmes sustain and, in many cases, improve animal productivity which in turn supports the local economy. Good animal welfare practices also play a vital role in maintaining food safety standards which benefits human health.
Working animals are at risk of injuries, strain, malnutrition and illnesses just like humans. Those can be fatal if left unaddressed and if the owner cannot access veterinary care because of poverty and/or living in very remote areas. Animal’s ill-health is, more often than not, easily preventable. For example, a simple wound can quickly become infected and kill the animal, leaving families without any source of income. Yet, it can be avoided with a small course of antibiotics which only cost under £10. Any untreated minor injury can lead to lameness which puts an end to an animal’s working life. A tetanus injection (at around £7) prevents an animal from dying an agonising death.
Veterinary vaccination and treatment, access to nutritious food and good farming practices prevent animals in the most impoverished countries of the world from living with chronic, untreated conditions and experiencing constant pain.
Mother Helpage under its project “Animal Welfare” provides a wide range of benefits to communities. We organise free, pop-up veterinary camps in the poorest and most remote regions of the world. Our education and awareness-raising campaigns aim to equip populations with vital knowledge about animal welfare and foster positive attitudes, responsible behaviour and, most of all, empathy and compassion towards all animals. Our projects play a vital role in the welfare and safeguarding of both humans and animals by improving food standard, increased animal productivity, economic growth and reducing the risk of transmitting diseases between animals and humans.
