Research Agenda
The aim of this research agenda is to finalise our research priorities. We consult with individuals and organisations (e.g. funders, researchers, decision-makers) we think would, or could, be interested in our work. The agenda summarises our current thinking on the overall structure of our planned research. It sets out a non-exhaustive list of topics that we would like to be addressed. If you think we missed something, let us know and we will consider updating it.
Research questions range from ‘broad’ topics, which enhance the general understanding of the priorities, to ‘narrow’ topics focusing on specific contexts such as geographical regions, local political landscape etc. These will be roughly set out starting with broader and then moving to narrower topics. Broader topics that address general questions and can provide the most information value per unit time for strategic decision-making are prioritised. Topics that are being investigated by other organisations (which we are aware of) get deprioritised. Most of the following topics focus on animal agriculture or farmed animals, with some addressing animal welfare in general.
Future research ideas
Arguably, one of the most valuable and important questions we think anyone should research further in this field is ‘how to prevent, stop. or reduce industrial animal agriculture (a.k.a factory farming) in African countries? As this is a broad and complex question, it may be useful to break this down into the following topics for further investigation. We encourage interested individuals to conduct research on the these topics whilst we currently do not have the capacity. We are happy to support and chat to anyone who might be interested in doing so - reach out here!
1. Modelling growth of factory farms
Questions: How much will factory farms continue to grow? In which countries will it likely grow the quickest? Are we able to prevent factory farming from becoming the status quo in African countries where subsistence/smallholder farming is still the main method of food production? Historically, what has driven intensive farming practices in other developed contexts (Europe, North America)? Does that apply to an African context? Can we pre-empt the development of farming practices in Africa based on historical evidence from developed nations? If prevention is not possible, what can we do to reduce animal suffering as much as possible?
Relevance: Animal agriculture systems consist of subsistence farmers, smallholders, medium-scale commercial operators, industrial facilities, and different kinds of animal husbandry, from extensive cattle grazing to mixed crops/livestock farming. To gain a better understanding of the animal agriculture landscape in a specific country, we need to understand how and why it has developed in this way, the likely progression of the industry in the next 5-10 years, who are the key actors, what are their goals, how do they intend to achieve their goals, what is holding them back, what can incentivise or motivate them to improve, and change their goals or operations?
2. Supply and demand elasticity in animal agriculture supply chains
Questions: What drives animal agriculture production? What happens when production increases or decreases? How does demand affect production? Are all food production supply chains are driven by supply and demand?
Relevance: Understanding the interplay between these two allows us to better understand what drives the agriculture market, which in turn enables more effective advocacy work. If a premise of the animal welfare movement is that higher welfare standards increase the cost of farmed meat and will eventually shift consumption towards equally priced, but cruelty-free plant-based and cultivated animal protein, how does this work in comparatively poorer African communities? Perhaps we could aim for just animal welfare awareness and leave further asks/steps in the chain for richer communities or until alternatives become more available and affordable?
3. International trade and regulations
Questions: What is the role of international agencies e.g. World Bank, World Trade Organisation, Food and Agriculture Organisation, and United Nation (Sustainable Development Goals) in influencing and shaping animal agriculture in African countries (e.g. in terms of import/export, financing, technical assistance)? To what extent do regulations in receiving countries dictate agriculture operations in exporting countries? What are the regulatory frameworks safeguarding animal welfare between importing and exporting countries? Are most African countries importers or exporters of products?
Relevance: Foreign investments could be an issue. Will exploitation of animals grow significantly to meet local demand and export to countries that seek to secure their meat and egg supplies – e.g. China, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa? Are these foreign investments the ones that will lead to the intensification of animal farming in the continent?
4. Legal/political
Questions: What animal welfare policies or legislation currently exists in Africa? What is the level of enforcement? If working on policy change in Africa, should we focus on changing corporations or governments (legislative or judicial)? How can we improve the law? How can policies in adjacent areas be used to promote animal welfare and protect animals?
Consumer protection law/false advertising law
Environmental law
Species conservation/endangered species law
International/foreign law
Relevance: Legislation is a major driver of change. Countries that have laws safeguarding animal welfare and a strong law enforcement unit arguably see less animal abuse. Animal advocacy groups can push governments to create animal welfare laws and/or include our target animals in these. But first, we need to understand which countries include animals in their welfare laws and whether they are implemented. In several cases, animal welfare standards have been determined mainly by religious precepts, rather than state regulation. This is especially the case in North Africa.
5. Relationship between animal welfare and other social issues
Questions: What is the role of climate, food security, nutrition and public health (e.g. antibiotic resistance) on animal agriculture and food systems in Africa? Is there evidence to suggest that addressing large-scale livestock production through discussions and efforts on animal advocacy alone are adequate without reference to these additional, often associated issues?
Relevance: In general, animal welfare interventions should consider that other social issues such as hunger and poverty are widespread in the continent, and especially, the relationship between animal welfare/health and food security.
6. Public perception of animal welfare, including consumer attitudes in Africa
Questions: What evidence do we have that public awareness is necessary in bringing about institutional changes? How important is it? Can we leap frog this step? Do we have to take into account concerns of voters of more democratic countries? If important and necessary, what are the local communities’ understanding of animal welfare? What are their attitudes and behaviour towards animals? How can we influence public opinion? What is the role of religious, cultural and social elements in shaping their attitudes and behaviours? How do these opinions differ among countries? When we evaluate the individual impact of interventions, should we prioritise attitude or behaviour change?
Relevance: Other animal advocacy movements have shown us that public awareness plays a key role in bringing about institutional change.
7. Defining animal welfare terms specific to the African context
Questions: What terms should we use when describing animal welfare (e.g. welfare, safety, abuse, slaughter) and animal agriculture (e.g. factory farms, large scale farming, intensive animal agriculture, industrialised livestock production) in Africa?
Relevance: The state of animal welfare and scale of animal agriculture in most African countries is different than those in developed nations. This may mean we should use different terms to address these topics than those that are used frequently in Western contexts.
Past research
1. Animal welfare in Africa
Questions: What is the general status or overview of animal welfare in Africa? What practices exist now? What are the role and centrality of animals in various African countries (e.g. in terms of providing livelihoods and adequate nutrition to a very significant number of the population)? Does animal welfare in African countries conform to international standards of animal welfare?
Relevance: There is still a lack of research dedicated to assessing the status quo of conditions on animal welfare in Africa. A literature review tying together all the relevant publications in order to answer this question may identify priorities for the animal advocacy movement and ways to get to a point where welfare is upheld.
2. African animal advocacy organisations and advocates
Questions: What are animal advocacy organisations and individual advocates in Africa doing?
Relevance: The African animal welfare movement is new. It is unclear what many organisations are doing and where there are opportunities for additional funding. We aim to understand the focus of their animal advocacy efforts and the tactics that are being employed.
3. Effectiveness or impact of animal advocacy organisations and advocates in animal welfare
Questions: How effective or impactful is animal advocacy organisations and individual advocates? How do local farming practices, economics, consumption practices modify the effectiveness of interventions a charity is carrying out?
Relevance: We would like to gauge organisational size, organisational track record, if/how impact evaluation is being conducted, and whether organisations optimise for cost-effectiveness (and other EA principles). This would provide an understanding of what interventions are likely to succeed in the future and where there are opportunities for additional funding.
4. Obstacles that animal advocacy organisations and advocates face in their advocacy efforts
Questions: What are the barriers holding the movement back from developing?
Relevance: We would like to understand the largest bottlenecks that organisations and advocates face and subsequently what they could achieve if they weren’t constrained.
5. Support that can help animal advocacy organisations and/or advocates become more effective or impactful
Questions: What could be done to support individual advocates and organisations?
Relevance: We would like to gauge organisations’ interest in being supported by an external organisation, the nature of support and the logistics of providing such support.
6. Type of animals
Questions: Which animals seem most promising to help in Africa? For example, is it better to help wild animals or animals used for consumption and work in Africa from an importance, tractability, and neglected framework? Are there any data with regards to the scale or number of factory-farmed animals or non-farmed animals that are exploited more in Africa? This should also take into account the number of potential future animals that may come into existence due to a rising population, increasing wealth etc. Areas of animal welfare to consider:
a. Farmed animals (or animals raised for food consumption)
b. Wild animals
c. Working animals (e.g. for transport)
d. Companion animals (including domestic animals/strays)
7. Type of interventions/advocacy efforts
Questions: What type of intervention is likely to be successful in different African countries? What interventions have been attempted before? Why did they succeed or fail? What can we learn from the movement in other developing countries such as in Asia? What challenges did the movement face in developed countries? Can we use those learnings to avoid or overcome those challenges in Africa?
Relevance: We could look at a few interventions that have worked in other social justice movements or animal advocacy movements in other countries. The purpose of this research is to determine key factors that led to the success of an intervention and identify whether those factors exist in African countries, predicting the likelihood of it succeeding in Africa. For example, corporate campaigning tends to be more successful in areas where there is more consolidation of corporations.
a. Individual/public outreach vs institutional/political outreach
Questions: Is individual outreach potentially more impactful or effective in Africa compared to institutional outreach? What is the role of national governments in supporting animal welfare in their countries (e.g. the kinds of husbandry practices they favour, the nature of their support/non-support)? What type of governmental intervention is possible?
Relevance: There seems to be a significant majority agreement among effective animal advocacy researchers that an institutional focus is more effective. However, many people we've surveyed mention the need for more public outreach focusing on educating and raising public awareness of animal welfare. On the other hand, corporate campaigns in Africa have not reached the same level of traction or results compared to Europe and America.
b. Capacity/movement building vs direct work