Monthly Spotlight – Africa Network for Animal Welfare (ANAW)
This month, we spoke with Dr. Dennis Bahati, Head of Programmes at Africa Network for Animal Welfare (ANAW), one of ACE’s Movement Grantees and a Pan-African NGO that works with communities, governments, and partners across the continent to advance animal welfare through policy advocacy, research, and coalition-building.
Dr. Bahati has over ten years of experience spearheading animal welfare and environmental advocacy campaigns across Kenya and the wider African continent. In this interview, he discusses how ANAW is working with Nakuru County’s government to develop welfare regulations for farmed chickens and the challenge of bringing policymakers on board.
1. Could you introduce Africa Network for Animal Welfare and the core problem your work is trying to solve?
Africa Network for Animal Welfare (ANAW) is an indigenous Pan-African non-governmental welfare organization that works with communities, governments, partners and other animal welfare stakeholders to sustain animals as sentient beings through compassion, care, and appreciation. We achieve this by influencing policy, empowering communities, advocacy and informed attitude change. ANAW has spearheaded key animal welfare campaigns while building Africa-wide networks with governments, policy leaders, media and other institutions to press for effective policy and legislation networks towards the care of animals. By building these coalitions and partnerships, ANAW has succeeded in bringing together organizations dealing with animal welfare, conservation, climate change, environmental awareness and biodiversity, to tackle various animal welfare and conservation issues at community, national and international levels.
For the past four years, ANAW has undertaken Cage-Free Campaigns and Research in Africa focused on establishing the extent of adoption of caged farming in East, West, Central, Northern and Southern Africa. This has involved identifying gaps within the legal and policy frameworks governing the chicken farming systems as well as consumers’ perceptions of caged chicken farming and its influence on their purchasing characteristics. Through these undertakings, we established the need to develop chicken welfare standards in Kenya and across the continent to enhance the wellbeing of chickens at every stage.
To address this, ANAW, with support from Animal Charity Evaluators in 2025, spearheaded a project in Nakuru County to enhance chicken welfare standards through policy advocacy and stakeholder outreach. The project aims to advocate for the adoption and implementation of a new code of practice on chicken welfare that is centered on enhancing welfare aspects in all stages affecting farmed chickens. Through an assessment of the policy and legal framework governing the use of battery cages in Kenya in 2020, it was highlighted that several gaps exist in our legal system with no legislation advocating for welfare considerations for farmed chickens. This project therefore focused on driving the adoption, implementation, and enforcement of the code of practice on chicken welfare at every stage, targeting key stakeholders such as county policymakers, law enforcement officers, farms raising chickens killed for meat and egg-laying hens, transporters, marketers and slaughterhouse personnel. This has been achieved through targeted lobbying combined with stakeholder awareness and education on the key aspects of the code of practice.
2. What are some of the big wins you’ve had so far?
ANAW, with support from ACE and in partnership with the County Government of Nakuru, Kenya, engaged key stakeholders to strengthen chicken welfare standards at every stage. Some of the key milestones achieved include:
- Engagement of 27 policymakers and technical experts from the Department of Livestock, Fisheries and Veterinary Services to support the development of chicken welfare regulations to be anchored under the Nakuru Animal Welfare Act. Through continuous consultations and dialogue, draft chicken welfare regulations have been developed and submitted to the Department’s legal team for review. Upon approval, the draft regulations will be forwarded to the County Assembly for adoption and integration into the existing County Animal Welfare Act.
- Following these efforts, the Directorate of Veterinary Services in Kenya, through the Division of Disease Surveillance, has designated ANAW to support the development of chicken welfare regulations to be incorporated into the nearly enacted national Animal Welfare and Protection Bill.
- Engagement of over 650 stakeholders across all the stages, within the 11 sub-counties of Nakuru County, including farmers raising egg-laying hens and chickens killed for meat, transporters, marketers, law enforcement officers, and slaughterhouse personnel.
3. What are the most significant challenges you currently face in advancing your mission?
Initially, policymakers were hesitant about the project and its overall significance in addressing the welfare concerns affecting chickens in Nakuru County. Through multiple engagements and consultation meetings, the policymakers have appreciated the need to adopt the chicken welfare regulations in Nakuru’s agricultural agenda. They are also excited about having Nakuru County as the beacon and pioneer in adopting the regulations that are yet to be incorporated in the other counties and at the national level.
4. How has the ACE Movement Grant helped strengthen ANAW’s work?
The ACE grant has been instrumental in pioneering this first-of-its-kind initiative across Kenya geared towards enhancing welfare standards for farmed chickens at every stage. The grant has supported the engagement of policymakers to adopt chicken welfare regulations in Nakuru County that are critical in safeguarding their wellbeing. The grant has also enabled ANAW to reach the people who interact with chickens every day, from farmers and transporters to marketers, law enforcement officers, and slaughterhouse personnel, equipping them with the knowledge to improve welfare practices at every stage. Without this grant, this initiative would not have been attainable.
5. If you had to share a final message with the ACE audience, what would it be?
Africa Network for Animal Welfare and the County of Nakuru are extremely thankful for supporting the implementation of this much needed initiative. ANAW is hopeful that this pilot project will serve as a beacon for enhancing chicken welfare standards in other counties in Kenya and hopefully across the African continent. We are excited about this partnership and hope to continue collaborating in enhancing the welfare of animals.
Disclaimer/Note:
The responses in this spotlight were provided by Africa Network for Animal Welfare (ANAW) and reflect the organisation’s own account of their work.
ACE is dedicated to creating a world where all animals can thrive, regardless of their species. We take the guesswork out of supporting animal advocacy by directing funds toward the most impactful charities and programs, based on evidence and research.
