Senegal: Context for Animal Welfare
Senegal is West Africa's most stable democracy and one of the continent's most urbanized nations, with a relatively well-developed civil society. It has a predominantly Muslim population (approximately 95%) with cultural and religious frameworks that include both obligations of care for animals and practices that cause animal suffering. Senegal's economy depends significantly on livestock, artisanal fishing, and peanut agriculture — all sectors with important animal welfare dimensions.
Animal welfare advocacy is nascent in Senegal but growing, particularly around working horse and donkey welfare where Brooke and other international organizations have had significant impact.
~500,000
Working horses, donkeys, and mules
Working Animals: Senegal's Hidden Welfare Crisis
Senegal has one of West Africa's largest populations of working horses, donkeys, and mules relative to its size. These animals are essential for transport, agriculture, and artisanal activities across rural Senegal and in peri-urban areas of Dakar and other cities.
Working Horses in Dakar
Horse-drawn carts (calèches) are a major form of transport and commercial activity in Dakar and other Senegalese cities. Despite their importance, the welfare of working horses is often poor:
Urban working horse welfare: Many Dakar working horses show severe body condition scores, laminitis, harness sores, respiratory disease from urban pollution, and overloading. Horses often work 10–12 hour days in extreme heat with inadequate access to water and feed. The economic precarity of horse cart owners means welfare investments are often seen as unaffordable.
Rural Donkeys and Mules
- Donkeys and mules in the Peanut Basin (central Senegal) are central to groundnut (peanut) cultivation and transport
- Overloading is endemic — animals routinely carry loads exceeding safe welfare limits
- Harness sores, foot problems, and respiratory disease are common and frequently untreated
- Traditional husbandry knowledge around welfare is limited; owners may not recognize signs of pain or distress
Progress: Brooke West Africa
Significant impact: Brooke West Africa operates one of the largest working animal welfare programs on the continent, with extensive programs in Senegal. Activities include mobile veterinary clinics reaching rural communities, training for farriers and harness makers, owner education on load management and nutrition, and engagement with community leaders. Brooke has reached hundreds of thousands of animals and their owners in Senegal.
Livestock Welfare
Cattle and Small Ruminants
Senegal's livestock sector is dominated by the Peul (Fula/Fulani) pastoralist community, who maintain large cattle herds and move seasonally between northern and southern pastures. Welfare profile:
- Extensive pastoral systems generally allow cattle to express natural behaviors — mobility, social grouping, foraging
- Seasonal nutritional stress during dry season (November–May) causes significant condition loss and welfare impact
- Traditional veterinary care is largely based on herbal treatments with limited effectiveness for serious conditions
- Commercial livestock farming is growing around Dakar and other urban centers, with emerging intensive confinement systems
- No pre-slaughter stunning regulations; traditional halal slaughter without stunning is universal
Tabaski (Eid al-Adha)
Senegal's most important festival, Tabaski (Eid al-Adha), involves the slaughter of sheep by almost every household in the country — an estimated 700,000–1 million sheep are slaughtered on a single day. Welfare concerns include:
Transport and holding: In the weeks before Tabaski, sheep are transported from pastoral areas to urban markets under severe crowding. Holding conditions in temporary city markets are often poor — animals without adequate water, shade, or space. The single-day demand creates logistical pressure that compromises animal welfare throughout the supply chain.
Slaughter practice: Household slaughter without stunning by individuals with varying levels of skill creates welfare risks. Islamic guidance on minimizing animal suffering is not always translated into best practice. The scale — a million animals in a single day — makes this one of the most significant one-day welfare events in West Africa.
Artisanal Fishing and Marine Welfare
Senegal has one of West Africa's most important artisanal fishing industries, with Dakar's Soumbédioune fish market among the largest in the region. Marine animal welfare considerations:
- Fish are landed alive and die slowly in air — no stunning or rapid killing practices are standard
- Sea turtles — all species protected under Senegalese law — are still taken incidentally in artisanal fishing nets and sometimes consumed
- Marine mammals including bottlenose dolphins are occasionally taken as bycatch
- Overfishing driven partly by foreign fishing agreements depletes fish populations and affects marine ecosystem welfare broadly
European fishing agreements: EU-Senegal fishing agreements have been criticized for allowing industrial-scale foreign fishing that competes directly with Senegalese artisanal fishers and depletes stocks that both humans and marine predators (sharks, dolphins, seabirds) depend on. These agreements have animal welfare implications beyond the fish directly taken.
Wildlife Conservation
Protected Areas
Senegal has a significant network of protected areas including Niokolo-Koba National Park (a UNESCO World Heritage site) in the south, the Djoudj Bird Sanctuary (also UNESCO), and the Langue de Barbarie. Wildlife populations have declined significantly due to poaching and habitat loss:
- Lions are present in very small numbers in Niokolo-Koba; the population may be functionally extinct
- West African chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) have small populations in southeastern Senegal; habitat connectivity is critical
- Hippopotamuses are present in the Casamance River; subject to some poaching pressure
- Djoudj hosts millions of migratory waterbirds — one of the most important migratory bird staging areas in Africa
Sea Turtle Conservation
Progress: OCEANIUM (Dakar-based NGO) and other organizations work on sea turtle nest protection, education, and reducing turtle bycatch in artisanal fishing gear. Community ranger programs have significantly reduced nest destruction in some areas.
Legal Framework
| Law | Coverage | Effectiveness |
|---|
| Code Forestier et de la Faune (Forest and Wildlife Code) | Wildlife protection, hunting regulation | Moderate in protected areas; weak outside |
| Code de l'Élevage (Livestock Code) | Livestock health and some welfare provisions | Limited enforcement |
| General anti-cruelty provisions | Covers overt cruelty; rarely enforced | Very limited |
No modern welfare law: Senegal lacks a comprehensive animal welfare act. Existing provisions are fragmented, outdated, and rarely enforced. The cultural and institutional infrastructure for animal welfare enforcement is minimal.
Organizations Active in Senegal
- Brooke West Africa: Working animal welfare programs covering Senegal and neighboring countries; largest animal welfare organization operating in Senegal
- SPANA Senegal: Supplementary working animal welfare programs
- OCEANIUM: Marine conservation including sea turtles, mangroves, and coastal ecosystems
- Direction des Eaux et ForĂŞts: Government body responsible for wildlife management; limited capacity
- World Animal Protection: Occasional programs including Tabaski animal welfare
Cultural and Islamic Dimensions
Senegal's Islamic tradition offers important resources for animal welfare advocacy:
- The Prophet Muhammad's extensive teachings on treating animals with kindness — including providing water, not overloading, and minimizing suffering — are well-known to Senegalese Muslims
- Sufi brotherhoods (particularly the Mouride and Tijaniyya) have significant social influence and could be powerful partners for welfare education
- The concept of rahma (mercy/compassion) in Islam encompasses compassion for animals
- Brooke has successfully used Islamic animal welfare teachings as a framework for working animal welfare education — finding greater acceptance than Western animal rights frameworks
Cultural leverage: Engaging Islamic religious leaders and Sufi brotherhoods in animal welfare education is among the most promising strategies for improving welfare outcomes in Senegal.