Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare (UDAW)

The Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare (UDAW) is a proposed inter-governmental agreement to recognise that animals are sentient, to prevent cruelty and reduce suffering, and to promote standards on the welfare of animals such as farm animals, companion animals, animals in scientific research, draught animals, wildlife animals and animals in recreation.

The declaration has not been adopted by the United Nations. The initiative began in 2000 with the World Society for the Protection of Animals, now World Animal Protection, and it remains a reference point in debates on animal sentience, animal welfare standards and international animal law.

UDAW at a Glance

Status: proposed, not adopted by the United Nations
Nature: if endorsed, a non-binding set of principles, in the way the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is
Origin: initiative launched in 2000 by the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA), now World Animal Protection
Foundation text: agreed at the Manila Conference on Animal Welfare in 2003
Scope: farm animals, companion animals, animals in scientific research, draught animals, wildlife animals and animals in recreation
Do not confuse with: the Universal Declaration of Animal Rights (UDAR) of 1978

Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare (PDF)

Animal welfare is a global concern. Animal welfare matters intrinsically to all sentient animals – those able to suffer and feel pleasure. Animal welfare matters to people, including but not limited to people who depend on animals, and caring for animals benefits both people and the environment. It is time for the world to take this responsibility to animals seriously. It is time for a Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare.
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Back a Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare: Help make the UDAW a reality

We are calling for a Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare (UDAW) to be backed by the United Nations.
worldanimalprotection.ca/our-work/global-animal-protection/universal-declaration

It is proposed that a UDAW be adopted by the United Nations. If endorsed by the UN (as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was) the UDAW would be a non-binding set of principles that acknowledges the importance of the sentience of animals and human responsibilities towards them. The principles were designed to encourage and enable national governments to introduce and improve animal protection legislation and initiatives.

It has been argued that a UDAW is consistent with, and could help secure the achievement of, the UN Millennium Development Goals. Those goals have since been succeeded by the Sustainable Development Goals.

This should not be confused with the Universal Declaration of Animal Rights (UDAR).

The Four Principles of the UDAW

The draft declaration rests on four short principles, which are written for governments to adopt and then turn into national law and policy.

The welfare of animals is a common objective for all states.
Each state’s standards of animal welfare should be promoted, recognised and observed through better measures, both nationally and internationally.
States should take all appropriate steps to prevent cruelty to animals and to reduce their suffering.
Further standards will be developed for the use and management of farm animals, companion animals, animals in scientific research, draught animals, wildlife animals and animals in recreation.

The preamble of the draft goes further than the principles. It describes animals as living, sentient beings that deserve consideration and respect, treats animal welfare and animal health as linked, and points to the standard-setting work of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH, formerly OIE). It also refers to the Five Freedoms, the widely used framework for judging an animal’s welfare. Wording differed between drafts, so read the PDF on this page for the text we publish.

History

The UDAW was conceived by the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA, now World Animal Protection), which now acts as its Secretariat. It is supported by four main partners: the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), Compassion in World Farming, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) and the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS).

In 2003, the Manila Conference on Animal Welfare was attended by 19 government delegations with the European Council, United States and Saipan as observers. A foundation text for a UDAW was agreed.

In 2005, the UDAW inter-governmental steering committee was formed and representatives of the governments of Kenya, India, Costa Rica, Czech Republic and the Republic of the Philippines agreed to champion the initiative. They lead a group of governments whose officials have stated support in the following years, including Australia, Cambodia, Fiji, Latvia, Lithuania, New Zealand, Poland, Slovenia, Tanzania, and the UK.

In 2007, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE, now WOAH) decided to support a UDAW, as did the Commonwealth Veterinary Association (CVA) and the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE). In August 2008, the national veterinary associations of Chile, New Zealand, the UK, the Philippines, Thailand and Colombia have all given public backing for a UDAW.

In April 2008, Eric Martlew MP put forward an early day motion in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom that “calls upon the Government to give its full and publicly-stated support for this initiative, including active support within the European Union and the United Nations.”

The lack of success in shaping internationally binding charters on animal rights has not been for want of trying. People in modern times have attempted to identify and advance the rights of animals at least since the 18th century. Credit usually goes to Henry Salt (1851–1939) for writing the first book on animal rights, published in 1892 and subsequently. And Salt traces efforts back to John Lawrence (1753–1839), one of the earliest modern writers on animal rights and welfare. Lawrence argued in his 1796 book, A Philosophical and Practical Treatise on Horses and the Moral Duties of Man Towards Brute Creation (T N Longman: London), that we have to care for animals and common law should support this principle in practice.

The 20th century saw a number of international declarations supporting animal rights. Perhaps the most prominent venture was the announcement (The Times, 17 October) in 1978, at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), of the Universal Declaration of Animal Rights, put forward by the French League of Animal Rights. Among the Declaration’s pronouncements were that all animals have the same rights to existence, no animal shall be ill-treated or subject to cruelty, animals shall command the protection of law, and dead animals shall be treated with respect. The Declaration, however, waned and faded away before it could reach significant levels of international agreement.

More recently some of the world’s leading animal welfare organisations have started campaigning for the United Nations to adopt a new declaration. This time the declaration is on the welfare of animals: the Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare.
Why welfare and not rights? Probably because welfare is a softer option than rights and therefore easier for people to accept. Thus it has a better chance of endorsement and of enduring.

The animal organisations behind this new declaration envisage that signatory countries to the document will recognise animals as sentient beings. They hope their declaration will make animal welfare an important global issue, pioneer the way for legally binding international agreements on animal welfare and hasten a better deal for animals worldwide. Their declaration would also underscore the importance of animal welfare as part of the moral development of humanity. So far a number of United Nations member states are acting as a steering group to advance the initiative at the UN.

Where the UDAW Stands Today

The UDAW is still a proposal. Campaigners have collected several million signatures of support worldwide, yet a 2022 review by Well-being International found that significant progress in persuading the UN General Assembly had not been made. Legal research guides, such as the one kept by Georgetown Law Library, still note that no worldwide treaty governs animal welfare. A separate proposal, the UN Convention on Animal Health and Protection, was introduced by animal law experts in 2019 and has not been adopted either.

Animal welfare has nevertheless found other routes into the UN system. In 2009 the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations referred to the draft declaration in a report of an expert meeting. In March 2022 the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA 5.2) in Nairobi adopted a resolution on the nexus between animal welfare, the environment and sustainable development, sponsored by Ghana, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Senegal, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan and Pakistan. It asks the UN Environment Programme to prepare a report together with the FAO, the World Health Organization and the World Organisation for Animal Health. The Millennium Development Goals have since been replaced by the Sustainable Development Goals, and that resolution places animal welfare within the sustainable development agenda.

For the wider subject, see our Animal Welfare page and the directory of Animal Ethics Organizations.

Animal Welfare or Animal Rights: UDAW and UDAR Compared

The two declarations are easy to mix up. The Universal Declaration of Animal Rights was announced in 1978 and argued that animals have rights, including a right to existence and to protection by law. It was never endorsed by governments. The UDAW takes a more practical route. It asks states to recognise animal sentience, prevent cruelty and build welfare standards, without making a claim about rights, which its backers see as a position more governments can accept.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare? The UDAW is a proposed inter-governmental agreement that would recognise animals as sentient, commit states to preventing cruelty and reducing suffering, and encourage animal welfare standards for farm animals, companion animals, research animals, draught animals, wildlife and animals in recreation.

Is the UDAW legally binding? No. If the United Nations endorsed it, it would be a non-binding set of principles, like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Supporters hope it would encourage governments to introduce and improve their own animal protection laws.

Has the United Nations adopted the UDAW? No. It remains a proposal that campaigners and a group of supporting governments are asking the UN to endorse.

Who started the UDAW? The initiative was launched in 2000 by the World Society for the Protection of Animals, now World Animal Protection. It is supported by the ASPCA, Compassion in World Farming, the RSPCA and the Humane Society of the United States.

What is the difference between the UDAW and the UDAR? The UDAW concerns animal welfare and sentience. The Universal Declaration of Animal Rights of 1978 concerns animal rights. They are separate texts from different campaigns.

Where can I read the text of the declaration? The draft is available as a PDF download on this page.

Sources and Further Reading

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