Animal Advocacy in Egypt

September, 2024 by ESR Team - 58 minute read

Introduction

To date, there has been a dearth of comprehensive overviews concerning the state of animal welfare in Egypt. Though lacking, this information is necessary for the global effective animal advocacy (EAA) community to grasp the local context, taking into account the political, economic, and cultural factors in Egypt that could present both challenges and opportunities for the EAA community. This report is a first step for Ethical Seafood Research toward filling this knowledge gap, whereby we present a consolidated overview of our findings on the Egyptian animal advocacy landscape, opportunities and challenges, focus areas for future effective action, and important questions for further exploration. Our report is based on insights gathered from desk-based research, supplemented by interviews (phone-based and written) with stakeholders in Egypt's animal advocacy landscape. We hope this report will be a valuable resource for groups seeking to conduct high-impact animal advocacy in Egypt, particularly international organisations that may not have a nuanced understanding of the local context.

Demographics & Economy

As of 2024, Egypt ranks 43rd in terms of GDP worldwide. It has a GDP of $347.6 billion, which is growing by 3% every year. ¹ Its population size is 114 million people,² which is expected to grow to 161 million by 2050. Approximately 43% of the population currently lives in urban areas, a large majority of whom live on the country’s only arable land near the banks of the Nile River. Estimations show that by 2050³, 55.6% of the population will reside in urban areas. Population-wise, the country’s three largest cities are Cairo, Alexandria, and Giza.⁴

According to the World Bank, Egypt’s economy has been particularly hard hit in recent years due to increased interest rates, fluctuating global financial markets, and geopolitical conflicts. In particular, the war in Ukraine, ongoing Covid-related disruptions, and the Israeli–Palestinian conflict have exacerbated ongoing economic challenges in the country.⁵ ⁶⁷

Key development goals for the country concern improving poverty rates, unemployment levels, and productivity growth. A 2019-2020 study showed that 29.7% of the population live below the national poverty line. Climate change and its impact on food security and water scarcity represents another significant concern, and it is expected to have major repercussions for Egypt’s economic future. Estimations show that the overall impacts of climate change will represent 2-6% of the country’s GDP by 2060.

Agriculture plays a pivotal role in the country’s economic revenue. Agriculture and agribusiness is the country’s largest employer (employing between one quarter and one third of the population), and agri-food products account for 21% of exports in Egypt.⁸⁹ The agricultural sector is also considered an important contributor to food security in the country. However, increasing privatisation by multinational companies has led to concerns around food sovereignty and vulnerability in the face of economic instability.¹⁰

Year-on-year, aquaculture is becoming an increasingly vital asset to both Egypt’s food security and economic growth. Egypt’s aquaculture sector has seen significant growth in the last decade. Tonnage-wise (per calendar year), Egypt is the top producer of fish in Africa, and at the global scale, it is the sixth largest producer of fish, and the third largest producer of tilapia. This growth trajectory is expected to continue as the sector expands to meet rising consumption and demands.¹¹

The Nile

The Nile River is a major geographical feature of the region, with significant cultural and historical importance. The Nile Delta provides over 50% of Egypt’s economic activity, primarily from the agriculture, fisheries, and industry sectors.¹² The Nile River also provides 97% of the country’s freshwater resources. However, the combined impacts of climate change, including high fluctuations of drought and coastal flooding along the river, are projected to impact water availability and industry. Economic analyses have projected that by 2050, climate change-induced water scarcity will negatively impact the Nile River and Egypt’s agri-food production; the country’s overall food production is estimated to decline by 5.7% (higher than the rest of the world at 4.4%), and its overall agricultural employment by 9%.¹³

Religion

As far back as Ancient Egypt, animals have played a key role in the religious life of Egyptians. Equally, religious teachings and attitudes have long been an important factor contributing to the treatment and use of animals in the country. Today, an estimated 90% of Egyptians are Sunni Muslim, 10% are Christian, and approximately 1% are Shia Muslims. ¹⁴ The large Muslim population in the country significantly impacts both dietary preferences and farmed animal production numbers. For example, cows and chickens far outweigh pigs in terms of the number of individuals farmed in Egypt; this trend is reflected in the consumption rate of food products derived from these individuals. When asked for preferences on alternative protein product ‘types’, Egyptian respondents reported chicken and beef as much more desirable product types than pork in a recent survey. ¹⁵

Islamic traditions also perpetuate the use and killing of animals under certain conditions for religious reasons. For example, as part of the biannual Eid festival celebrations, shepherds travel to the city to sell their sheep, cows, oxen, and camels for ritual sacrifice. Their buyers, who are often families with little to no experience in humane slaughter methods, will then slaughter the animal themselves. ¹⁶

It’s important to recognise that religious texts can often be interpreted in various ways, particularly when it comes to non-human animals. Animal advocate scholars have offered the following, non-exhaustive, pro-animal interpretations of Islamic teachings:

The Qur’an provides a moral code of conduct which extends human responsibility toward animals and the natural world. As the earth’s custodians as designed by God, humans are accountable for any abuses towards nature and other living beings.
The Qur’an recognises that God has established an equilibrium or balance (mizan) in nature that is absolute. Maintaining this harmonious balance and egalitarianism requires formulating basic concepts not only of human rights, but also of non-human animal rights and ecological rights.
Some argue that such Islamic teachings mandate the respectful interdependence of multi-species human and non-human animal communities as well as the establishment of certain personhood rights for non-human animals. ¹⁷

Whilst pro-animal interpretations of Islamic teachings are attracting increasing interest, these interpretations are rarely reflected in sociocultural norms. There is a major disconnect between the moral standards of compassion and mercy taught throughout the Qur’an, and the inhumane treatment of various kinds of animals in the country. Some of the local animal advocates we spoke with in Egypt referenced this paradox. However, the incommensurability of religion and animal welfare is by no means unique to this region nor to the Islamic world. It’s useful to note that many contemporary issues relating to animal welfare, such as industrialised animal agriculture, and the use of animals in scientific research, are not accounted for in many religious texts simply because these issues are a product of today’s society, and did not exist when these texts were written.

Current Animal Welfare Legislation

The consideration of animal welfare as a concept is currently in its infancy in Egypt, reflected by the minimal legislative support observed there to date. World Animal Protection recently ranked the country with an ‘F’ in their Animal Protection Index (API). The API project ranks countries according to various legislative and policy criteria, including how well countries commit to protect animals and their welfare, and recognise their sentience in their legislation. Egypt’s ‘F’ rating has not changed since 2014, reflecting the limited animal welfare protection and anti-cruelty provisions within existing legislation, and underscoring the lack of progress toward improving these provisions. ¹⁸ ¹⁹

The API’s findings are summarised below:

Local legislation in Egypt does not recognise animal sentience.
The Egyptian Constitution (2014), the Egyptian Penal Code, and the Agricultural Law (1966) account for some protection and anti-cruelty measures, but there is no law attributable specifically to animal welfare or to animal suffering caused through inaction.
Article 45 of the Egyptian Constitution (2014) mandates that “the State shall…preserve plant, animal and fish resources and protect those under the threat of extinction or danger, guarantee humane treatment of animals, all according to the law” ²⁰ Importantly, this covers both terrestrial and aquatic species. However, the enforcement of this law is hindered by its lack of specificity, and the absence of clearly defined species and their welfare needs.
There are no secondary legal mandates pertaining to appropriate “housing, care, transport or slaughter for farm animals or animals in captivity”, or legal protections that align with the Five Freedoms.
The Agricultural Law (1966) does stipulate certain animal health provisions, particularly regarding farmed animals. However, there are no policies or regulations pertaining to rearing pigs, broiler chickens, egg-laying hens, dairy cattle and calves. It’s also worth noting that health and disease control measures should be considered as distinct from the issue of animal welfare. Failure to recognise this differentiation is a “considerable barrier to progress.”²¹
Provisions relating to the transport and slaughter of farmed animals remain uncertain due to the absence of translations for the relevant Ministerial Decrees at the time of writing. However, the Agricultural Law (1996) does limit the slaughtering of male cattle under two years old.
Laws for animals in captivity remain inconclusive as there is no policy or legislation relating specifically to zoos, the private keeping of wild animals, or fur farming.
Whilst there are basic animal cruelty protections for tamed animals, there are no laws relating specifically to stray animals. As with farmed animals, the Agricultural code does include ‘domestic animals and birds’ in health and disease control measures.
The Penal Code includes “criminal penalties for deliberately killing or poisoning” working animals, such as those used for draught and recreational purposes. There are no further mandates pertaining to anti-cruelty measures.
There are no specific laws for animals used for scientific research.
The Agricultural Law (1966) includes some provisions for hunting and killing wild animals “that are useful for agriculture and the environment”. Furthermore, the law states that it is “forbidden to hunt, trap, possess, transport or sell wild animals”. Analysis of legislation relating to the animals’ habitat environment and ecosystems remain uncertain due to the absence of translations for the relevant laws at the time of writing. However, the report notes that Egypt is a member of international conservation and wildlife conventions such as CITES, but also that “Cairo is an acknowledged major wildlife trafficking centre owing to its geographic location between Africa and Europe.”²²
There are no government bodies assigned explicitly for the responsibility of animal welfare in Egypt. The Ministry of Agriculture is concerned with developing legislation related to animal health, as mentioned above. The Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency is concerned with matters such as environmental management and biodiversity, which nevertheless does have an indirect impact on animal welfare for both terrestrial and aquatic species. ²³
Egypt is a member of the OIE, which has stated guiding principles for best practices in animal welfare. However, at the time of writing, the OIE standards were yet to be incorporated into the country’s legislation and policy. The Egyptian government has also not pledged their support for the Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare (UDAW).

The API offers several recommendations for improving the state of animal welfare within Egypt, along with specific and actionable legislative and policy proposals. We urge anyone interested to visit their website for the comprehensive report, which could inform future animal advocacy efforts in the country.

In addition to legislative and policy limitations, there are key sociocultural and logistical bottlenecks which hinder animal welfare progress in Egypt. We expand on these themes throughout this report.

Methods

We conducted a desk-based literature search to find animal advocacy-related reports, publications, and organisations in Egypt using Google, Google Scholar, the New York University library database, and Animal Charity Evaluators’ Research Library. We also conducted interviews (three phone-based and two written) with a sample of five organisations working within the region to better understand the current state of their work in the field, and to gain a deeper understanding into the key challenges and potential opportunities that advocates encounter in Egypt.

We selected organisations based on an extensive search for groups with experience in the region, which included both local and international charities. Unfortunately, not all of the organisations we reached out to responded to our request for an interview. This is understandable considering a lack of familiarity with us, along with potential language difficulties of communicating with an English-speaking interviewer. Moreover, some of the international organisations we reached out to were not active in the region at the time of correspondence.

Participant Advocacy Groups in Egypt

We are grateful to the following participating organisations for sharing their expertise and knowledge with us during the interview stage of our research.

Phone Interviews

We held virtual interviews with members from the following three organisations:

Animal Care in Egypt (ACE)

ACE is a British animal care hospital operating in Luxor since 2000. The hospital treats primarily working animals such as donkeys and horses. They also treat dogs, cats, and occasionally goats and sheep. ACE also has an active educational campaign, whereby they educate school children and animal owners on basic animal care and welfare.

Alexandria Turtle and Wildlife Rescue (ATWR)

Alexandria Turtle and Wildlife Rescue is a direct help wildlife rescue organisation. Based in Alexandria, the organisation has a specific emphasis on rescuing and releasing sea turtles from the wildlife trade. They also host events to educate the public, and campaign for wildlife advocacy. Since they started in 2014, they have rescued and released 127 sea turtles. They also rescue other wildlife species such as wolves, foxes, chameleons, and birds of prey (e.g. owls and falcons).

Animal Protection Foundation (APF)

APF is a Giza-based companion animal shelter that takes in and rehomes the city’s stray dog population. As of 2023, the shelter has more than 3,000 dogs. APF is also a member of The Egyptian Federation for Animal Welfare – a collective of ten local organisations, including the Egyptian Society for Mercy to Animals (ESMA), Hope Animal Shelter, Cairo Animals Rescue Team – working in animal advocacy. Of these groups, ESMA and APF are the only groups that are active in Trap, Neuter, Release (TNR) programmes to help control the stray population.

Written Interviews

Whilst we prioritised spoken interviews to capture the thought processes and candid remarks of our participants more accurately, two of the organisations expressed preference for a written interview to be conducted via email. These were:

Touch of Life Organization (ToL)

ToL is a shelter based in Giza that works with companion animals and working animals. It was originally founded by a French expat, who has since passed away. We corresponded with their Canada-based social media and donations manager.

African Union Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR)

AU-IBAR is an agency connected to the African Union Commission (AUC). They report directly to the Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture (DREA). The organisation was initially founded as an epidemiological research lab in 1951 to help combat rinderpest. AU-IBAR’s mandate is to “support and coordinate the improved utilisation of animals (livestock, fisheries and wildlife) as a resource for human wellbeing in the Member States of the African Union (AU), and to contribute to economic development, particularly in rural areas”. AU-IBAR established the African Platform for Animal Welfare (APAW) and the Animal Welfare Strategy for Africa (AWSA) to support this mandate. ²⁴About Us (African Union Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources, Our History section); https://www.au-ibar.org/page/about-us

Limitations

It’s important to note that this sample is unlikely to represent the entire breadth and depth of all animal advocacy organisations, and their work in Egypt. For example, we did not speak with anyone working with entertainment animals, or animals used in scientific research. Also, whilst AU-IBAR does work with agricultural and farmed animals, they do not possess specific experience working in Egypt, and they frame animal advocacy efforts through the lens of optimising an agricultural animal’s or farmed animal’s resource utility within the agricultural industry.

Overall, the information available on animal welfare in Egypt is limited. Whilst qualitative interviews might help to provide context and fill in some information gaps, they are not always representative of the situation at large (i.e. country-scale). There was also a significant gender bias in our interviewees, with only one of the participants being male. One of the participants stated that most people working in their field within Egypt are women, but this was based on anecdotal evidence only. In any case, more research delving into the demographics of those involved in Egyptian animal advocacy would likely prove informative for the EAA community.

Types of Animals in Egypt

Animals fall into various categories, or ‘uses’ in Egypt, namely farmed animals, working animals, wild animals, animals used in entertainment, animals used for scientific research, and stray and companion animals.

Farmed Animals

Terrestrial Farmed Animals

Africa is projected to see massive population growth and increased wealth over the next few decades, both of which are conducive to the continual industrialisation of farmed animal agriculture. The production of animal-based products across the continent has almost doubled since 2000, and is ever-growing. ²⁵

The graph below illustrates Egypt’s total number of farmed animals. The sharp drop in herd numbers (namely sheep, goats, cattle, and buffalo) observed around 2018 is likely explained by the Ministry of Agriculture’s change in their animal estimation methodology. They changed from recorded feed use and consumption to recording the number of vaccinated animals in Egypt. Because the number of vaccinated animals only represents 50-60% of total animals, the totals reported are likely significantly less than the true totals. ²⁶

Chart showing Terrestrial Farmed Animal Production, or “Stock” 2010-2021

Source: FAOSTAT

FAO category / term definitions are explained for Cattle ²⁷According to the FAO, “Cattle” subclasses include: – cattle, species of Bos, mainly bovis, taurus, indicus, grunniens, gaurus, grontalis and sondaicus, known with many different names: ox, zebu, yak, gaur, gayal, banteng. This subclass does not include: buffalo, species of Bubalus, Syncerus and species of Bison Buffalo ²⁸The FAO’s Buffalo subclass includes: buffalo, species of Bubalus, mainly bubalus, ami, depressicornis, nanus (buffalo, Indian buffalo, water buffalo, carabao, and Pigmi buffalo) – caffers, African buffalo, species of Syncerus – bisons, species of Bison (American and European). Poultry ²⁹ A FAO description is not available, but we can deduct that the term refers to chickens, ducks, geese, guinea fowl, and turkeys (the majority being chickens). in the footnotes below ³⁰ . Based on these FAO statistics, we can see that there has been a significant large increase in the number of poultry birds produced and slaughtered in Egypt between 2010 and 2021.

Sheep and Goats

Small ruminants are a major source of meat and milk production in Egypt. There are three major breeds of sheep in Egypt (Rahmani, Osseimi and Barki), and four major breeds of goat (Saidi, Barki, Wahati, and E. Nubian). ³¹ ³² ³³Their abundance is partly because of their ability to withstand a wide variety of agricultural terrain (including desert lands), and partly because they require less quantities of feed than cattle. ³⁴

Cattle

Egypt’s national cattle herd is mostly comprised of dairy cattle (Bos taurus; 55%), and domestic water buffalo (usually for beef; Bubalus bubalis; 45%). The country imports live cattle “for immediate slaughter” from Sudan, Brazil, Europe, and the United States. Water buffalo are also a common export from India, and these numbers are likely to increase to compensate for the decreased imports from Brazil (caused by an increased demand for Brazilian cattle from China). ³⁵ Live cattle imports (especially from Sudan) have grown in the region, since it is cheaper to import animals than it is to farm them; this is because water scarcity has reached a critical level in Egypt, which in turn is driving up the cost of raising local cattle from birth. ³⁶ ³⁷

According to a 2022 USDA report, increased production prices, feed shortages, the devaluation of the Egyptian pound, and the country’s complex import procedures are putting pressure on the local cattle industry. Many farmers have opted to maintain or decrease their herd size as a result. Increased feed costs are especially burdensome for small and medium sized farms (small and medium enterprises make up around 70% of the country’s “animal husbandries”), whereas the larger farms are more capable of absorbing these increased costs. These factors are putting constraints on the industry, despite government strategies for expansion. They are also driving up costs for consumers. In Egypt, consumption is closely tied to cost and affordability (the country is largely populated by low-income consumers), so these higher costs discourage consumers purchasing cattle-based food products. ³⁸

Poultry

According to a 2021 USDA report, Egypt has 25,000 licensed poultry farms. In 2020, the Egyptian poultry industry produced 1.4 billion broiler chickens and 13 billion eggs. The Union for Poultry Producers has proposed to increase broiler chicken production numbers to 2 billion by 2030, and to double the number of table eggs produced in that same timeframe. ³⁹ ⁴⁰ These projections appear to corroborate the trend of increasing “poultry” numbers we see in the FAO data charted above.

Aquatic Farmed Animals

Africa currently has the highest growth in aquatic farming globally. With access to the Red Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, and the inland waters supplying the country with fish (i.e. the Nile River and the man-made Lake Nasser), Egypt is expected to see a dramatic rise in farmed aquaculture in the coming years.

The Egyptian Red Sea ecosystem is comprised of four main fishery sectors: industrial (i.e. commercial large-scale operations, using mostly purse seining and trawling methods), artisanal (i.e. semi-industrial, or small-scale commercial), subsistence (i.e. ‘traditional’), and recreational. Though the data is somewhat outdated, it is notable to mention that historically, Egypt’s total catch numbers submitted to the FAO were lower than catch numbers reconstructed by collating various data sources available to the researchers. It is estimated that the reconstructed catch total was 1.1 times what was submitted (i.e. 10% higher), and that 34% of the total catch was horse mackerel, scads and other jacks, and herring. This ‘missing 10%’ has been attributed to Egypt not counting discards, subsistence, and recreational fishery numbers in the country-wide data submitted to the FAO. ⁴¹ ⁴²

According to the World Bank, “fish production is projected to reach 5 million tons and provide employment to over 1 million persons by 2030, and 7.6 million tons and 1.6 million persons by 2050, driven strongly by aquaculture.” In the face of climate-driven impacts on food security, aquaculture is being recommended as a means of reinforcing coastal resilience whilst strengthening food security and household incomes in Egypt.9,25,39 Though projected to strengthen coastal economies in the region, the estimated water scarcity in the Nile River region may paint a different picture for the resilience of its inland aquaculture sector. 9 As of 2020, fish farms constitute about 85% of total fish production in Egypt (~1.7 MMT), whilst natural fisheries produce about 300,000 MT of fish via seas, lakes, and the Nile River.

Working Animals

Egypt has an estimated 1.7 million working equines (including donkeys, mules, and horses). Equines work on a wide range of tasks in transportation and tourism, often under gruelling conditions. ⁴³ Horses in Egypt are also used for racing, particularly in Cairo and Alexandria sporting clubs. ⁴⁴

In 2021, there were an estimated 99.6 thousand camels in Egypt. Camels are sold for slaughter, farm work, tourism, transport, and racing. Camels are routinely beaten with sticks, and all have one leg tied up to prevent them from escaping. ⁴⁵

Wild Animals

Egypt is home to a diversity of over two hundred species of wild mammals, reptiles, amphibians. There are an estimated 470 bird species in the country. Over 1,300 fish species, 13 species of whales and dolphins, and one species of dugong live in the surrounding waters of the Red Sea, together with more than 1,000 species of aquatic invertebrates. The Egyptian gazelle, the Sinai tiger, various kinds of Egyptian lizards, and the sea turtle are among several endangered animals that are protected in Egyptian nature reserves. ⁴⁶

In addition to native wildlife species, the Red Sea coast of Egypt has recently been recognized as a critical waypoint on the eastern Mediterranean flyway route for migratory raptors. The area has recorded significant numbers of migrating birds, including over 1,200 Egyptian vultures within just six weeks in 2022. Protecting these migratory species along their migration routes is essential, as they face increasing threats from human activities. These threats include electrocution and collisions with the rapidly expanding electric transmission and distribution grids across Egypt’s deserts, as well as habitat destruction and fragmentation caused by large-scale infrastructural projects. ⁴⁷

Egypt is also signatory to several international and regional conventions on wildlife protection. Most recently in 2015, the government introduced the Egyptian Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan 2015-2030, which outlines key intervention areas and indicators for the conservation of wildlife and natural habitats on a national scale. ⁴⁸ However, there is a lack of clarity how progress towards key targets and results are routinely monitored or updated, raising concerns about the practical implementation of the strategy.

Egypt is considered a major transit country for the illegal wildlife trade in the Middle East and Africa region. Illegal ivory trafficking from Eastern and Central Africa to sell to tourists in Egypt is currently the region’s biggest concern. ⁴⁹

Animals Used for Scientific Research

Several animal species, including mice, rats, hamsters, guinea-pigs and rabbits have been traditionally used in educational institutions for a range of research and experimental activities. ⁵⁰

Egypt does not publish official national statistics on the number of animals used in scientific research. However, there has been research done and regression models created to extrapolate and estimate the numbers for Egypt (and globally); this estimation is based on information available on the publication rate of scientific papers detailing experiments and procedures on animals. In 2015, the estimated number of animals used for scientific research in Egypt was 192,425. This was up 151% from the 2005 estimate of 76,680. ⁵¹ ⁵²

The Egyptian Association for Animal Research Advancement (EAARA) is an organisation who “agrees on the humane use of animals in research, teaching and testing activities implementing 3Rs concept and justification of their use”.⁵³ Though they do not disagree with the use of animals in scientific research, they do advocate for the implementation of the 3Rs – replacement (of animals with e.g. computer models), reduction (of overall number of animals used), and refinement (of experimental methods to minimise pain and distress experienced by the animals undergoing experimentation). ⁵⁴ The EEARA provides workshops, conferences, and training for those who experiment on animals, so that they can better implement the 3Rs in their research.

In 2012, the first Egyptian Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) was established in Cairo University, to standardise the quality of animal care and welfare for animals experimented on; this is mandated by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). ⁵⁵ However, until 2018, formal training of scientific researchers in the areas of animal handling and husbandry was an uncommon practice in Egypt. In 2018, the EAARA, in collaboration with Cairo University and Utrecht University organised the first ‘laboratory animal science’ course with the aim of raising researcher’s awareness of the principles that govern the humane use and care of laboratory animals. ⁵⁶

Animals Used for Entertainment

Several animal species are used in the Egyptian National Circus, which has been in operation since 1966. These include wild animals such as lions, tigers, monkeys, crocodiles, elephants, dogs, bears, pigeons, and giraffes. These animals are bred in captivity and are subjected to poor and unnatural living and working conditions. ⁵⁷

Stray (and Companion) Animals

The stray animal population is considered a major problem in Egypt due to bite risks, and the major health risk to Egyptians posed by the spreading of infectious diseases, such as rabies. Whilst the exact number of stray animals is unknown, recent estimates say there are anywhere from 15 to 50 million stray dogs in the country, with many more stray cats. ⁵⁸ According to WHO, more than 200,000 animal bites are recorded in the country each year, with the majority of these bites coming from dogs. ⁵⁹

An average of 60 people die from rabies in the country annually; the government poisons and shoots dogs as part of population control campaigns, a tradition going back to the 19th century when “as part of a public hygiene push, authorities trapped, shot and poisoned dogs en masse”. 53 Whilst stray cats are not the targets of these campaigns they often get caught in the crossfire; they are also killed by drowning and suffocation.⁶⁰

There is a pervasive stigma towards the stray population in Egypt, especially towards dogs. However, Western ideas around dog ownership are becoming more popular amongst upper- and middle-class Egyptians, and advocates are hopeful that these ideas are becoming more widespread. ⁶¹

Current State of the Animal Advocacy Movement in Egypt

Types of Animal Advocacy

Working, Stray and Companion Animals

A large majority of the non-profit animal advocacy groups operating in Egypt work with working animals and the stray companion animal population. In a recent Animal Advocacy Africa report on the landscape of animal advocacy across Africa, there were two Egyptian advocacy organisations featured: Brooke Animal Hospital, which advocates for working animals, and the Society for the Protection of Animal Rights in Egypt (S.P.A.R.E), which mostly focuses on providing a shelter for companion animals, but also advocates for farmed animals and animals used for entertainment. Neither Brooke nor S.P.A.R.E responded to our request for interviews, however we have found the S.P.A.R.E website to be a useful source of information.

Organisations which protect the stray animal population seem to be the most common type of advocacy in Egypt. These organisations are overburdened with the sheer quantity of animals needing help, especially in urban areas. As one participant described shelters in Cairo: “They’re drowning…there’s no way to rehome the amount of animals they have there.” (ACE). Many of these shelters have a “no kill policy” (ACE). Animals are either brought into shelters, or found on the streets. One participant said how it is common to find dogs chained on rooftops under direct sunlight and without water (APF).

Another reason for the ballooning stray population is that the USA, Canada, and other countries have placed a ban on accepting Egyptian dogs: “Before we were able to send 2,000 dogs in four years abroad to find them homes… Now every dog which comes in, it just stays… [in] Europe, only [the] UK accepts [them], and we send maybe five dogs every six months” (APF). This suspension of transporting and accepting street dogs from Egypt and other countries is due to rabies concerns. ⁶² Many countries still accept cats but the cost of transporting them is high. One participant who helps an Egyptian shelter remotely from Canada said she will fly cats to Canada if they have enough funding (ToL).

Many interview participants spoke strongly against the government’s poisoning and shooting campaigns. (ACE, APF, TOL). To promote viable alternatives, shelters commonly coordinate Trap Neuter Release (TNR) programs, either on their own, or in collaboration with other shelters (according APF, APF and ESMA are part of a collective of advocacy organisations in Cairo which run these campaigns). However, this does not prevent the government from killing neutered dogs. One participant suggested that Turkey could provide a model strategy for Egypt to follow regarding their street dog population (APF). Turkey has made great progress with their TNR campaigns over the last 20 years, which has helped with public stigma and fear of street dogs. ⁶³

However, sociocultural barriers present a major obstacle for animal advocates who focus on stray animal advocacy. One participant suggested that spaying and neutering campaigns defy religious beliefs and gender roles in the country. “Everything is in God’s hands…To actually neuter a cat or a dog to them, especially the males, it goes against the male psyche here, but also against their faith.” (ACE). These underlying belief systems extend to the treatment of working animals. For example, many owners will refuse to castrate their working donkeys, which can lead to injury and infections (ACE).

Whilst none of the advocates we spoke with worked specifically in advocacy for factory farmed animals, one participant worked with a veterinarian who was employed in a government-owned abattoir for many years: “He said nobody would ever, ever want to go there and see the way animals were treated… And if he wanted to complain about anything that was happening there, he would just be fired…if you complain to your superior, your superior gets fined and therefore you can’t complain to your superior because they will fine you and will fire you.” This level of corruption and concealment is not unusual in industrialised slaughterhouses around the world. ⁶⁴

None of the advocates we spoke with worked specifically in advocacy for animals used in scientific research.

Wild Animals

Another important area of animal welfare advocacy in Egypt focuses on wild animals and the protection of wildlife. These efforts are led by a small number of local wildlife and nature conservation organizations. Some rescue operations of wild animals in captivity, receive support from local authorities following sighting reports from local organizations or individual witnesses. However, rescue efforts are infrequent and face numerous challenges. The limited number of organizations dedicated to wildlife protection, coupled with inconsistent law enforcement and low public awareness of the environmental impact of wildlife hunting and captivity, results in many cases going unreported.

The successful rescue and release of captive wildlife require timely coordination among several key groups, including the Ministry of Environment and its affiliated local bodies, local communities, and civil society organizations across cities, coastal areas, and deserts. When this coordination works effectively, it has led to significant successes. One such case is the rescue of endangered vultures from an illegal wildlife market, ⁶⁵ and another is the rescue of an endangered loggerhead turtle from a commercial fish market. ⁶⁶ However, a 2021 report by Nature Conservation Egypt, an organization dedicated to wildlife and nature protection, estimated that in 2017 alone, 278,054 captured endangered birds were sold in markets, with 64% of the birds surveyed being traded illegally (without hunting permits) ⁶⁷ . In response to the rising illegal trade of endangered animals and birds, the Ministry of Environment established a hotline in 2022—the first of its kind—to encourage the public to report illicit activities. The hotline has reportedly received thousands of calls since its launch. ⁶⁸

Despite growing efforts to advocate for the welfare and protection of wildlife in Egypt over the last years, several factors continue to impact these efforts. Egypt’s Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (2015-2030) identifies key obstacles, including limited data for assessing species’ status, weak enforcement of wildlife protection laws, particularly outside protected areas, insufficient coordination and information exchange among relevant agencies, and inadequate financial mechanisms to support biodiversity conservation. These factors remain significant barriers to effective wildlife welfare and advocacy in Egypt. ⁶⁹

Undercover Investigations

The Bassateen Slaughterhouse investigation is the country’s most high-profile animal welfare investigation. Animal rights group “Animals Australia” and OIE’s Terrestrial Animal Health Code investigated the slaughterhouse in 2006. This investigation led to Australia suspending their export agreement with Egypt for four years, and only resuming trade four years later under the condition that certain animal health standards are met. ⁷⁰ Then in 2013, Animals Australia obtained footage documenting inhumane treatment of cattle in an Egyptian slaughterhouse.⁷¹ This led to Australia again halting the export of live sheep and cattle into the country, and again resuming them in 2014. ⁷² According to World Animal Protection, no significant government action has been taken to improve conditions concerning transport and slaughter legislation for farmed animals despite these multi-year bans. ⁷³

Welfare Reforms

Several Egyptian animal advocacy organisations have proposed new legislation aimed at improving animal welfare in the country, which are often refused. ⁷⁴ One participant spoke of how politicians are reluctant to prioritise new animal welfare laws due to the overwhelming human-rights concerns that the country faces. They are resistant to support these laws, she said, because doing so will make them unpopular. However, due to recent personnel changes within key government departments, and the growing receptivity towards animal welfare concerns, she thinks now might be a good time to lobby for change (APF).

One participant, speaking at a more institutional level concerning governance frameworks throughout Africa, said that the concept of animal welfare is still new to the region, and that recent efforts to improve standards have been hindered by COVID. The participant’s organisation (AU-IBAR) is trying to establish regional and country-based animal welfare networks that will help to support the implementation of best practices in Egypt.

Successful Interventions

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in collaboration with The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has implemented several capacity-building projects in Egypt since 2007. These projects are intended to enhance the technical capacity of veterinarians and animal health personnel, so that they might better detect and manage infectious zoonotic diseases. In Egypt, the work is primarily aimed at managing avian influenza. ⁷⁵

Global corporations are also responding to public pressure for animal welfare commitments. Kellog’s has pledged to source eggs from only cage-free systems by 2025 globally. However, their website states that their timeline for Russia and Egypt “may require an extended period,” though no specific explanation, or indication of the extension period is given. ⁷⁶

PETA has been at the helm of several campaigns in the country. For example, they claimed to eradicate the use of animals in Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS), although this campaign did receive government pushback.⁷⁷ They also led an expose on camel and horse abuse at the Giza pyramids, which was featured in various high profile news sites. ⁷⁸ However, one of our Egypt-based interview participants questioned whether this intervention was more of a publicity stunt for their benefit: “PETA came along, took some pictures, put it into a video and put it out to their people, and then said that they’d been speaking to the government, and they eliminated this problem. And they hadn’t eliminated the problem whatsoever.” Global organisations such as PETA are better placed to attract much needed attention to animal welfare concerns from the international community. The interviewee’s comment speaks to the disconnect between the global advocacy community and local advocacy organisations within Egypt. We reached out to PETA during our research, but they did not respond to requests for comment.

Campaigns at a local level have also proven effective for animal welfare advocacy and shifting public perceptions. One participant spoke of how their organisation teamed up with other local advocacy organisations to file a class action court case against the government and their veterinary medicine practices. For this interviewee, the case represents a big first step in the right direction (APF). Another participant organises events such as World Animal Day and World Wildlife Day to raise public awareness around key issues (ATWR).

In 2021, a landmark ruling was also achieved when a perpetrator accused of violently torturing two stray dogs was fined ten thousand Egyptian pounds—a remarkably large penalty for an animal cruelty case in Egypt. This ruling was widely welcomed as a positive step and a significant precedent in enforcing stricter legal measures against animal cruelty. ⁷⁹ The ruling also demonstrated the impact that consistent engagement and awareness-raising by social media users, can have on influencing public perceptions and legal actions.

Finally, another participant told of how their organisation used a poster of a famous footballer wearing a t-shirt with a dog on it, to convince kids not to cut their dog’s tails off. She believes that celebrity endorsements are especially effective in appealing to younger groups. “The kids are being more pressured by social media and keeping up with the other kids who like a footballer or somebody that they think is wonderful.” (ACE). Social media has proven to be a useful tool for intervention and advocacy. In 2017, footage emerged of a group stabbing and murdering a dog in Egypt, which caused an uproar on social media. Social media users and animal rights advocates threatened legal action against the group, which in this case led to charges. ⁸⁰ Several participants also spoke of the effectiveness of using social media for advocacy and awareness campaigns. One organisation encourages members of the public to alert them about animal abuse and illegal wildlife trade via their Facebook page (ATWR). However, this can backfire when posted photos of animal abuse prompt members of the public to confront the perpetrator, who can then conceal the evidence before the animals in question are able to be rescued. (ATWR). Similarly, social media pages for animal advocacy can become the target of hate speech (APF).

Educational Campaigns

Many of the local organisations we spoke with consider education to be a vital part of their work. The education programmes range from addressing the stigma towards stray dogs, to teaching children (and occasionally, adults) about animal care and welfare, to creating awareness around animal sentience (ACE, ATWR) ⁸¹. These programmes help to counter dominant, fear mongering narratives which offer little in the way of animal welfare awareness (APF: such as the “beware of street dogs” warning). One organisation also gives children the tools to speak to adults about animal welfare concerns, whilst respecting cultural values: “We have a video that [teaches] them how to talk to adults without being rude, because it’s very important [that] the children aren’t rude to adults…your child wouldn’t say, “Uncle, don’t do that”…Culturally, that just wouldn’t happen. But we’ve got a song which they sing and it goes, “Uncle, please don’t hurt your donkey, he’s working hard for you, and in the future you’ll need him” … Just trying to think of ideas of how to get the children to be able to address that problem [is a step in the right direction].” (ACE).

Similarly, one participant spoke of the difficulty in teaching children about animal sentience when they are brought up in a society which doesn’t value animals: “We’re trying to teach the children that animals need to have water, and shade, and food, and the basics, the actual basics. Teaching them how to feel is completely another subject…we teach them about the human body and how, you know, if you hit somebody, it hurts. And therefore when you hit your donkey it hurts. But because the donkey doesn’t go “ow” or scream, that doesn’t mean it’s not hurt. To actually get that through to them, and to say that they understand it is another thing. It’s very, very difficult. It’s a lifetime of ingrained “beat your donkey”, make it do what you want it to do.”

Participants spoke of the logistical difficulties in coordinating these educational programmes with the government and the public school system, whether that means securing permission for kids to take part in the program each season, or arranging transport between the public schools and their facilities (ACE). One organisation in Cairo said that they can never get permission to visit public schools, so they can only visit private schools (APF).

In 2007, Brooke Hospital for Animals (BHA) developed a syllabus on animal welfare to be used with the government’s literacy program. According to their website this has been scaled across Egypt. ⁸² In general, the scalability of educational campaigns is usually limited due to funding and capacity constraints (APF).

Other organizations, like ‘Dayma’, combine science, wildlife protection and community-building, by providing educational experiences in nature to teach students and community members about wildlife conservation and environmental protection in Egypt. ⁸³ However, similar to many other organizations, the scalability of these educational campaigns is often limited by funding and capacity constraints (APF).

Why Farmed Animals?

Animal Advocacy Africa (AAA) has argued that farmed animals are a top priority for advocacy efforts within the African continent, over and above wild animals, working animals, and companion animals. The prioritisation of farmed animals over other animal groups is based on the relatively high neglect of farmed animals, the opportunistic timing of such interventions based on the projections of population growth and increased wealth, and the relative cost-effectiveness of such interventions compared with other animal groups. ⁸⁴

We believe that Animal Advocacy Africa’s prioritisation of farmed animals applies to Egypt for the following reasons:

The government and local unions are hoping to expand industrialised agriculture, especially cattle, poultry, and aquaculture.
Local advocacy organisations are, for the most part, not working with farmed animals so there is little awareness around farmed animal welfare.
The rising costs of feed and production, combined with increased costs for consumers have caused a recent lull in the expansion of industrialised agriculture. It is therefore an ideal time to consider plant-based alternatives and to establish benchmarks for animal welfare before the industry experiences exponential growth.
Engaging local producers and consumers in the growing global concerns about antimicrobial resistance in industrial agriculture highlights the impact on human health and creates opportunities to explore alternative higher welfare farming practices.
Concern for infectious zoonotic diseases after COVID-19, and the rise of avian influenza also make this an opportune time to draw focus on the impacts of industrialised agriculture on farmed animal health and human health.
Implementing advocacy frameworks that can help farmed animals could potentially provide stronger legislative, social, and political frameworks for improving animal welfare standards more broadly.

Opportunities for Effective Animal Advocacy in Egypt

Animal Advocacy Africa’s Recommended Interventions

Animal Advocacy Africa recently wrote a report comparing the expected impact of four different animal welfare interventions (public / individual outreach, institutional outreach, capacity building, and direct help) in Egypt, South Africa, Kenya, Rwanda, and Ghana. ⁸⁵ They found public / individual outreach to be the most impactful animal welfare intervention in Egypt. This is followed by direct help, institutional outreach, and finally, capacity building. Individual outreach tends to rank highly because it is scalable, and it easily attracts talent. Public outreach also benefits from the use of social media. The high impact of individual/public outreach interventions implies the importance of the localised knowledge existing in Egypt, which highlights the need for the international advocacy community to collaborate with local advocacy groups. This observation is bolstered by the insights we have derived from our interviews (as above).

There are also opportunities to improve the impact of the other existing interventions. For example, there is an opportunity to scale institutional outreach “by developing and supporting farmer networks”. ⁸⁶ Such an enterprise could work well in Egypt, especially considering the high numbers of small-scale farms in the country. For comparison, there is a similar enterprise in Vietnam called HealthyFarms. HealthyFarms is the first retailer in the country to commit to selling only cage-free eggs, by working with and supporting a network of small-scale farmers.⁸⁷

Capacity building tends to rank lower in intervention impact because success metrics for such interventions are difficult to measure. But it is worth noting that in Egypt, the timing for capacity building is ideal due to the country’s joint partnership with FAO and USAID concerning the management of infectious disease outbreaks. Leveraging health concerns, and work underpinned by the “One Health” concept present an important opportunity for capacity building interventions in the country (more on this below). ⁸⁸

Animal Advocacy Africa suggests combining capacity building with institutional outreach.⁸⁹ We can again look to Vietnam for an example of how this might look in Egypt. The Vietnam Animal Welfare Association organises investigations in animal cruelty cases, provides policy recommendations, and consults organisations on animal welfare issues. Such an organisation could also work in Egypt. Many of the shelters and animal hospitals double as educational facilities already, so it could be beneficial to combine their expertise and outreach with a larger institutional framework such as AU-IBAR to help influence policy.

Direct help scored low overall in Animal Advocacy Africa’s report, but it ranked comparatively higher in Egypt than the other countries from the study. The increase of live exports from overseas, together with the international attention this brings to local slaughterhouse conditions, and the ready surplus of trained Egyptian veterinarians makes it a particularly opportune time to intervene in slaughterhouses. Direct help through vaccinations could also appeal to farm holders due to the increased productivity and economic efficiency such an intervention would bring. ⁹⁰

Religion

Some interview participants propose adopting the more animal welfare-friendly teachings of religious beliefs as an opportunity to advocate for animals. For example, Dr. Mwenda Mbaka (AU-IBAR) promotes “pro-animal” welfare statements from religious discourse: “AU-IBAR operates with the recognition of the sovereignty and subsidiarity of the African Union Member States, in terms of their cultural and political dispositions. However, we promote the recognition of the cultural pro-animal welfare traditional beliefs, such as the pro-animal welfare statements in religious writings and teachings.” Perhaps echoing the animal welfare-friendly teachings of religious beliefs will appeal to some in Egypt, and encourage them to promote animal-friendly practices. In fact, in recent years, Dar Al-Ifta, which is Egypt’s Islamic advisory, justiciary and governmental body, issued several statements calling for the humane treatment of animals, particularly stray animals, in accordance with Islamic values and teachings. These actions present valuable opportunities to continue to align religious discourse more closely with the animal welfare movement in Egypt.⁹¹

Dietary Change Advocacy & Openness towards Plant-Based and Cultivated Meat

According to Animal Advocacy Africa, Egypt’s vegetarian campaigns have not had a positive impact, and the vegan movement has attracted negative reactions. ⁹² Furthermore, “Facebook posts that call for the end of mass slaughter of animals around Islamic holidays, have often led to criminal charges being laid against activists.” ⁹³ But despite this risk of negative or no impact, there are indications of a growing vegetarian/vegan advocacy movement in the country. For example, a Facebook group called The Vegetarian / Vegan Society of Egypt has 35.6 thousand members. The Vegan Society also offers grants for organisations working on individual outreach campaigns and creating awareness around veganism.⁹⁴

Also worth noting is a study by the Credence Institute and North Mountain Consulting Group looking at the likelihood of plant-based and cultivated meat adoption in Egypt, Kenya, and Nigeria.⁹⁵ As per the table below, the Egyptian study participants most regularly consumed chicken (87%), beef (63%), and fish (63%). Roughly half of these participants were open to buying and trying plant-based meat (PBM), cultivated meat (CM) and hybrid PBM + CM products. Notably, this was comparatively less than the Kenyans and Nigerians interviewed in the study. The Egyptian participants anticipated, on average, that alternative meat products could compensate for roughly half of overall meat consumption in the future. The study also found that Egyptians are more inclined to use supermarkets than Kenyans and Nigerians. This presents an opportunity given that plant-based meat alternatives are more likely to be sold in supermarkets. Finally, health and food security were the most significant motivations for PBM purchases in all three countries. ⁹⁶ Based on the findings of this study, we are more optimistic that Egyptians could consume less animal products in the future.

Egypt N = 1,065
	Reg.	Occ.	Nev.
Beef	63%	32%	5%
Camel	8%	37%	56%
Chicken	87%	12%	1%
Duck	24%	54%	22%
Fish	63%	32%	6%
Goat	7%	54%	39%
Goose	9%	46%	45%
Mutton or Lamb	15%	59%	26%
Offal	16%	51%	33%
Pork	1%	2%	98%
Quail	5%	39%	55%
Rabbit	7%	38%	55%
Shellfish	19%	51%	30%
Squab/pigeon	19%	62%	20%
Turkey	6%	53%	41%
Wild Animal	4%	18%	79%

Table showing consumption habits from “Plant-based and Cultivated Meat Adoption in Egypt, Kenya, and Nigeria”

Consumer lobbying and appealing to multinational companies could help to get more plant-based alternatives on supermarket shelves and / or improve farmed animal welfare standards. Whilst consumer choice is limited in Egypt due to the power of multinational stakeholders, previous consumer boycotts have lowered prices in the past, which implies that consumers still have influence over the supply chain. ⁹⁷ Multinational companies are also more exposed to public lobbying as they have explicit social responsibility policies (see Kellogg’s commitment to sourcing free-range eggs as an example, mentioned above). ⁹⁸

FAO Egypt Country Programming Framework

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) identified improved agricultural productivity and raising the degree of food security as two major priorities in the Egypt country programming framework (2018-2022) ⁹⁹. Many of the outputs for achieving these priorities overlap with animal welfare concerns.

Animal health is closely linked with agricultural productivity. Effective vaccination campaigns, together with increased regulations on sanitation, hygiene, and the management of spillover events (including trans-boundary zoonotic animal diseases, plant pests, and fish-based diseases) will all lead to increased agricultural productivity. Such interests also promote the values of the “One Health” framework, which recognises that human health is closely linked to, and interdependent with animal and ecosystem health. ¹⁰⁰ One of our participants expressed that there is a lack of awareness around the food system in Egypt, and subsequently there is a need to inform the public on how animal health directly impacts human health and welfare (ACE).

Importantly, studies have shown that outbreaks of infectious zoonotic diseases such as avian influenza are largely the result of commercial, medium to large-scale industrialised farms which provide pathways for viruses to move down to small scale farms and open-air markets. Therefore, any vaccination and disease management campaigns could be combined with increased regulations for commercial farming practices if outbreaks are to be effectively prevented and controlled. Specifically, restricting the sale of birds from large-scale to smaller facilities would help control the spread of disease along the supply chain. ¹⁰¹

Plant-based and locally grown protein-rich foods can help address food security and dietary health concerns. 74.6 million people in Egypt cannot afford a healthy diet, and the government invests significant amounts of money into subsidising meat and poultry to meet protein needs. ¹⁰² However, locally grown, protein-rich foods such as fava beans are less resource intensive and more efficient than the production of grains needed for animal feed, and, importantly, there is no threat of zoonoses.77 The impact of subsidising plant-based alternatives could also be explored to alleviate food security and dietary health concerns, in parallel with improving farmed animal welfare in Egypt.

Whilst not directly related to farmed animals, it is also worth noting the WHO’s strategy to eliminate all dog-mediated rabies by 2030. ¹⁰³ Combining vaccination campaigns with spay and neutering programs would be a more effective way of achieving this goal than poisoning and culling street animals, which does not stop the spread of the disease. ¹⁰⁴

Climate Change Action

As Egyptian agriculture and aquaculture systems will impact and be impacted by the effects of climate change, policy recommendations and strategies for climate action could and should consider animal advocacy concerns. ¹⁰⁵ Agricultural systems will compound the effects of climate change such as water scarcity and the spread of infectious zoonotic diseases. For example, range land degradation caused from overgrazing will likely contribute to water scarcity. ¹⁰⁶ Similarly, poor conditions at commercial animal farming facilities are likely to magnify the higher incidences of transboundary diseases and new infectious diseases created by global warming. ¹⁰⁷

When we consider the environmental footprint of animal agriculture, the production of beef and lamb far exceeds global environmental targets for greenhouse gas emissions (see table below). Climate change will also impact farmed animal productivity, and farmer’s livelihoods. High temperatures, humidity, and heat stress are all detrimental to animal welfare and reproduction.¹⁰⁸ Direct impacts on aquaculture species include higher water temperatures and increased salinity in the Northern lakes from sea level rise and the subsequent sea water intrusion. Coastal flooding will impact freshwater lagoons in the Nile Delta area where approximately 60% of the annual fish catch comes from. Indirect impacts include ecological and biological changes as a response to climate change. ¹⁰⁹ For these reasons it’s essential that considerations for animal welfare and possible alternatives to agricultural and aquacultural food systems are included in climate advocacy frameworks.

Table showing Environmental impacts: Food system impact on planetary boundaries (see notes for description of “planetary boundaries”) ¹¹⁰

Challenges to Effective Animal Advocacy in Egypt

Minimal Animal Welfare Laws

As above, Egypt’s minimal animal welfare protections, reflected in their corresponding ‘F’ rating on the animal protection index, makes it difficult to advocate for change in the country; this limits the power of law enforcement to respond effectively to animal abuse and mistreatment. Minimal fines for animal abuse means that people are not incentivised to treat animals with respect. Enforcement is also a major problem. For example, one of our participants said that laws aimed at preventing the wildlife trade are not consistently enforced (ATWR). There are also logistical bottlenecks as, according to Animal Advocacy Africa, most lawyers in Egypt “lack capacity to draft comprehensive legislation on animal welfare” ¹¹¹

Government and Institutional Restrictions

There is low political receptivity to animal advocacy in Egypt as policy makers are reluctant to make changes to the law. ¹¹² Overall, there is a general idea that human problems are more dire and urgent, and that humans are a greater priority than animals (ToL, ACE). Another part of the problem is there is no unifying governmental body responsible for animal welfare in the country. And the bodies responsible for issues relating to different species often have competing interests and motivations. For example, there is “often pushback from the Committee on Agriculture, Irrigation, Food Security, and Livestock regarding animal welfare issues” ¹¹³

Corruption and bureaucracy are other issues. Large multinational meat and dairy conglomerates hold political power in the Arab region and relationships with the military are not uncommon as a way to avoid the bureaucratic red tape of the state. Similar types of corrupt backroom arrangements extend to all levels of animal advocacy. One participant we spoke with said they pay government officials under the table to obtain the paperwork that keeps their animal hospital running. Another participant echoed this concern, saying that building supportive relationships with government officials is one of the greatest barriers they face.

Societal Perceptions

A lack of awareness of what animal welfare entails and low cultural receptivity are both major challenges to animal advocacy at the societal level. ¹¹⁴ This is particularly apparent with farmed animal welfare. One participant considered this to be the most significant challenge to effective animal advocacy in Africa. He stressed that even with the best intentions, most people focus on the physiological and physical needs of animals and there is little regard for their psychological well being. This results in “widespread poor animal welfare practices, despite genuine efforts to improve the wellbeing of the animals.” (AU-IBAR).

This low awareness extends to other areas of advocacy in Egypt, as many participants mentioned ignorance of animal sentience to be a major challenge for their practice (APF, ACE). However, there was acknowledgement that younger generations tend to be more conscious of animal welfare than older generations, even despite the misinformed attitudes and poor behaviours that are passed down (ACE). As with all social issues, there also exists a great variety of attitudes across the board. As one participant described, “We’ve had people that when their donkeys die, they wanted to take it home and bury it under the house because it belonged to their father. And, you know, he loved the donkey and they loved the donkey.” (ACE).

Low cultural receptivity may be due to deeply entrenched ideas towards non-human animals in the region. Cultural beliefs linking wildlife, such as sea turtles, with health and disease prevention are still prevalent, particularly in lower socio-economic areas (ATWR). Other attitudes might simply be due to the region’s long historical relationships with animals. One participant pointed out that street dogs have been in Egypt for tens of thousands of years (APF). “If you draw a circle on the world map with a centre in Egypt, you will see this is where street dogs started and they exist here today.” (APF).

From a socio-historical perspective, human-animal relations in Egypt have likely continued to change along-side changes in the pace of industrialisation and modernisation, where many animals, wild and domesticated, became relegated to the realm of human consumption and utilitarianism, a process which unfolded in similar ways in other parts of the world, and that which continues to develop and take new shape in today’s Egypt. ¹¹⁵

Logistical Restrictions

There are several logistical challenges to effective animal advocacy in the country. A lack of suitable transport, supplies, materials available in Arabic, and financial resources can make effective animal advocacy difficult, alongside the added challenge of being a foreigner advocating in the country.

One participant mentioned that her wildlife rescue interventions have been hindered by inappropriate transport (ATWR). Another spoke of the difficulty of locating basic supplies locally, and that imported supplies are subject to exorbitant tax (ACE): “There are so many things that we can’t get here …. We have to buy mostly human preparations for animals. We can’t buy the right drugs to put animals to sleep. It’s all makeshift, it’s all like field surgery.” (ACE). This might be related to Egypt’s complex import requirements and associated bans, which have made it difficult for “the private sector to obtain the raw materials needed for production. ¹¹⁶” The paperwork and bureaucracy of running a non-profit put some participants off registering their organisations (ATWR). For those that have registered, there are heavy requirements around tracking purchases electronically, which isn’t always possible for say, buying animal feed from the local farmer (ACE).

Lack of funding was the number one challenge for many of the participants we spoke with. Without funds to employ staff, many organisations rely on volunteers. But volunteers can be less motivated to work outside of regular hours, which presents problems for certain animal rescue interventions that are not scheduled (ATWR). Many of the large shelters housing thousands of dogs cannot rely on volunteers due to the sheer quantity of animals under their care (APF). One participant relies on private funding from the UK (ACE). Other participants expressed how difficult it is for local organisations to raise funds due to the low cultural receptivity towards animal advocacy. “You cannot imagine how challenging it is to get money, especially in a country like ours where most people don’t believe we are doing a good thing (APF). When grants are available, they are not always helpful for the day-to-day running costs and overheads of an organisation as they tend to be structured around a one-off project. As one participant put it, “I feed my dogs with half a million Egyptian pounds…. This is where I need the money. So I don’t need [money for] projects.” (APF). These requirements for companion animals especially, are ongoing.

There is widespread suspicion of animal advocacy organisations due to perceived corruption and the misuse/abuse of funds. One participant said that they don’t collect monetary donations from the public for this reason. “In Egypt, collecting money for animals doesn’t have a very good reputation because we have many crooked people in this field so…from day one I decided not to collect donations, except from my family” (ATWR). Unfortunately, the public has good reason for concern, as the advocacy community is riddled with scams. “We found that there’s a lot of groups starting up that are claiming to take in animals and rehome them, find homes for them, stray animals. And a lot from the scams… [they’ve] realised that…people will send them money in dollars and other things to save an animal’s life or you know, they put it on Tiktok or whatever, and those people are sending loads of money to them” (ACE). Another participant spoke of how some organisations will solicit donors and convince them to donate to their organisation instead (ToL).

One participant spoke of the need to frame animal welfare within a utilitarian framework, by appealing to the benefits that good welfare practices will bring to both animal owners and policy makers (AU-IBAR). However, financial issues can be a powerful psychological roadblock. One participant told of an exchange where she suggested someone put a fence between their working animals to prevent aggression which was leading to injuries and decreased productivity. The animal owner refused to put up the fence because of the money it cost (ACE).

The international funding ecosystem often fails to align with local needs, as donor funding mechanisms may not be based on local needs assessments and may not provide the agility and flexibility that local shelters require for daily necessities. In addition to the significant challenges facing non-governmental organizations in Egypt, funding for climate advocacy projects—despite the increasing support—continues to overlook animal welfare, treating it as separate from climate initiatives. Integrating animal welfare into climate advocacy projects and strategies could open diversified funding opportunities, essential for capacity building in the animal advocacy space.

According to Animal Advocacy Africa, the lack of scientific articles in Arabic creates another logistical bottleneck for capacity building-interventions. ¹¹⁷ More collaboration with local researchers and translating articles which elucidate best practices in animal welfare could be beneficial for the local animal advocacy communities.

Lastly, one British participant said it was difficult working in the field as a foreign woman (ACE), having an ‘outsider’ status creates tangible barriers for animal advocates who advocate in Egypt, but are not from Egypt.

Conclusions and Summary

The animal advocacy space in Egypt is relatively nascent, with most organisations focusing on working animals, companion and stray animals, followed by wild animals, animals used in scientific research, and farmed animals (the latter two focusing on continuing to use animals in their systems). The key challenges facing the local animal advocacy movement are: (i) minimal animal welfare laws, lack of enforcement, and limited capacity for lawyers to draft new legislative protections for animals; (ii) low political and sociocultural receptivity to animal advocacy and animal sentience (especially as it is perceived to be a lower priority issue compared to human rights and welfare); (iii) corruption, bureaucracy, and a lack of a unifying governmental body responsible for animal welfare; and (iv) a myriad of logistical bottlenecks, including a lack of transport, supplies, materials available in Arabic, and financial resources, in addition to the challenges faced by foreigners advocating in the country.

There are a number of promising opportunities for effective animal advocacy in Egypt, ranging from educational programmes to using religious teachings and beliefs to social media campaigns. Individual and public outreach has been highlighted as particularly promising in both our interviews and our desk-based research; this is likely closely related to the importance of the localised knowledge existing in Egypt, which underscores the need for the international advocacy community to collaborate with local advocacy groups (this may also relate to the barriers that foreigners experience during their advocacy work here). This type of outreach offers a scalable way to create impact, easily attract talent, and benefits from the use of social media, which is already being utilised as a tool in the local animal advocacy movement.

There are also opportunities to improve the impact of institutional outreach interventions, through developing and supporting farmer networks, especially due to the high numbers of small-scale farms in the country. Animal advocates could look to Vietnam’s HealthyFarms enterprise for guidance here.

Lastly, we are hopeful that the willingness to produce and consume more alternative proteins will increase throughout Egypt. By highlighting the connections between industrial animal agriculture and environmental issues such as pollution and climate change, advocates may be able to persuade the government to adopt agricultural policies that promote better animal welfare. Influencing those who shape policy by highlighting that plant-based and locally grown protein-rich foods can help address food security and dietary health concerns in the country may be a persuasive approach to creating positive impacts for animal advocacy in Egypt.

Questions for Further Consideration

How can sociocultural perceptions be influenced for the benefit of animals in Egypt?
How can the farmed animal advocacy movement in Egypt be fostered to address the current relative dearth of organisations and advocates working in the space? Is it possible for these organisations to garner support from those working on wild, companion, and stray animal welfare? If so, how?
How can sociocultural perceptions towards alternative proteins be influenced to increase their production and consumption in Egypt?
How can lawyers attain the appropriate knowledge to support the drafting of new and improved legislation to protect animals in Egypt?
How can a unified governmental body responsible for animal welfare be created in Egypt?
How can we foster collaborations between the international advocacy community and local advocacy groups?
How can resources (money, translations, etc.) be better deployed in Egypt to address the key logistical constraints identified here?
How can advocates work towards improving fish welfare in Egypt?
How can advocates work towards improving chicken welfare in Egypt?
How tractable would it be to raise awareness about the links between farmed animal agriculture and aquaculture, and the existing risks associated with climate change's impacts on water scarcity and the resulting negative effects on the River Nile? Since the potential impacts include financial losses, threats to livelihoods, food security, etc., they could potentially deter the public, institutions, and corporations from supporting the industry.
How can policy-makers in Egypt be most effectively persuaded to promote plant-based diets for improving public and planetary health, considering the widespread poverty and low incomes experienced there?
How can the impact of animal welfare and animal rights work in Egypt be better assessed?

Table of Contents

Introduction

Demographics & Economy

The Nile

Religion

Current Animal Welfare Legislation

Methods

Participant Advocacy Groups in Egypt

Phone Interviews

Written Interviews

Limitations

Types of Animals in Egypt

Farmed Animals

Terrestrial Farmed Animals

Sheep and Goats

Cattle

Poultry

Aquatic Farmed Animals

Working Animals

Wild Animals

Animals Used for Scientific Research

Animals Used for Entertainment

Stray (and Companion) Animals

Current State of the Animal Advocacy Movement in Egypt

Types of Animal Advocacy

Working, Stray and Companion Animals

Wild Animals

Undercover Investigations

Welfare Reforms

Successful Interventions

Educational Campaigns

Why Farmed Animals?

Opportunities for Effective Animal Advocacy in Egypt

Animal Advocacy Africa’s Recommended Interventions

Religion

Dietary Change Advocacy & Openness towards Plant-Based and Cultivated Meat

FAO Egypt Country Programming Framework

Climate Change Action

Challenges to Effective Animal Advocacy in Egypt

Minimal Animal Welfare Laws

Government and Institutional Restrictions

Societal Perceptions

Logistical Restrictions

Conclusions and Summary

Questions for Further Consideration

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