Review of animal welfare in Somalia covering pastoralist livestock systems, drought impacts, marine ecosystem pressures, and welfare in ongoing humanitarian crisis.
Somalia's animal welfare landscape is shaped by its dominant pastoralist economy, recurring droughts and floods linked to climate change, persistent conflict, and one of the world's least developed animal welfare regulatory frameworks. The country's livestock—particularly camels, cattle, sheep, and goats—represent the primary wealth asset for millions of Somalis.
Livestock accounts for approximately 40% of Somalia's GDP and 65% of export earnings, primarily to Gulf states. The national herd includes approximately 5 million cattle, 63 million sheep and goats, and 7 million camels—making Somalia one of the world's largest camel producers. Pastoralists have deep traditional knowledge of animal husbandry adapted to Somalia's challenging environments, from coastal lowlands to highland plateaus. This knowledge includes water management, herd composition, and seasonal movement that represents sophisticated animal welfare practice developed over centuries.
Somalia experiences recurring drought cycles that devastate livestock populations. The 2022 drought—the worst in 40 years—killed an estimated 3.5 million livestock and displaced hundreds of thousands of people. Animals die of starvation and dehydration over extended periods, representing massive welfare suffering. Flooding in intervening years destroys pasture and spreads livestock disease. Climate projections indicate increasing drought frequency and severity for the Horn of Africa, threatening the pastoralist system's long-term viability.
Somalia exports millions of livestock annually during Hajj and Eid seasons to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states. Saudi import standards require some basic welfare compliance for sea transport, creating external welfare pressure on the export supply chain. Live animal transport welfare on vessels remains a significant concern. The Gulf market's requirements have created some impetus for improved handling and transport welfare on the Somali end of the supply chain.
Somalia's 3,300 km coastline—the longest in Africa—was historically one of the region's richest fishing grounds. Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing by foreign vessels decimated fish stocks during Somalia's stateless period in the 1990s-2000s, contributing to the rise of piracy. Fish welfare in these devastated ecosystems reflects the broader marine crisis. Some recovery of fish populations has occurred as Somali maritime security improved. Artisanal fishers along the coast use traditional methods that are less welfare-concerning than industrial trawling.
In Somalia's humanitarian context, animal welfare is inseparable from human welfare. Livestock are food security, savings accounts, and cultural identity for pastoralist communities. Emergency livestock interventions—veterinary care, water trucking, emergency fodder—provided by FAO, ICRC, and NGOs during crises benefit both animal welfare and human food security simultaneously. The integration of animal welfare considerations into humanitarian response protocols is an important development in Somalia's context.
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