With only three months to go before another bull is torn apart to die a terrified and agonising death, animal welfare representatives from 10 African countries have called on the South African Parliament to denounce this annual ritual as unbecoming of the modern face of Africa.
 
At the end of the first-ever pan-African conference on animal welfare, held in Nairobi, Kenya, on 21- 24 September 2009, delegates unanimously called for the recognition of animals as 'sentient', deserving of care, respect and protection.
 
Delegates also signed a petition calling on the South African Parliament to halt, with immediate effect, the bare handed killing of the bull at the First Fruit Festival in Kwa Zulu-Natal usually held on the first Saturday in December each year. The petition stated: "We believe that cruelty to animals is not the face of Africa that will see us contributing to global discourse as competent and dignified participants." Countries that took part in the conference included Somali, Uganda, Egypt, DR Congo, Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone and South Africa. ( Click here to view petition 884.94 Kb).

For more about the conference, please go to: www.anaw.org or contact:

Josphat Ngonyo, Director: Africa Network for Animal Welfare.
 
P.O. Box 3731 - 00506
Nairobi, Kenya
Tel: +254 20 606 510
Telefax:  +254 20 609 691
Mobile: +254 (0) 722 243 091 / +254 (0) 733 617 286
Email:  This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

This Press Release is issued by: Compassion in World Farming (South Africa). Compassion's delegate to the conference was Tozie Zokufa.