Conference Dates: 5 - 7, October 2026

Conference Venue: Golden Peacock Hotel, Lusaka, Zambia and live-streamed for virtual delegates.

Conference Theme: Dialogue to Action: Collaborative Implementation for Animal Welfare, Climate Adaptation and Sustainable Development in Africa.

Africa Animal Welfare Conference (AAWC), the first and largest animal welfare conference in Africa, is an annual conference that brings together representatives of animal welfare, wildlife and environmental conservation organizations, NGOs, government officials and government-affiliated institutions, academics, researchers, media, policy makers, legal practitioners, community members, interest groups, development practitioners to discuss, explain and discern current issues affecting the sector.

1. To catalyze coordinated implementation across sectors and governance levels in enhancing animal welfare, climate resilience and sustainable development.
2. To promote policy harmonization by integrating animal welfare considerations into climate adaptation strategies, conservation frameworks, livestock development policies, and disaster risk reduction plans.
3. To strengthen legal and institutional systems, including enhancing enforcement capacity, judicial cooperation, and cross-border collaboration to address cruelty, illegal wildlife trade, and unsustainable exploitation.
4. To mobilize partnerships and sustainable financing mechanisms that support implementation efforts. Recognizing Africa’s demographic strength, the conference will emphasize youth engagement, volunteerism, and community stewardship as essential drivers of grassroots transformation.
5. Showcase academic and scientific discourse on Africa’s path towards climate resilience and sustainable development.

The overall goal of the conference is to stimulate policy development, review and planning for the realization of animal welfare.

The Conference sets to bring together animal welfare stakeholders to deliberate on critical issues affecting animals, their value and their contribution to socio- economic, environmental, humane and sustainable development in Africa.