On March 20, 2025, we successfully hosted our first workshop to initiate the drafting process for animal-specific animal welfare guidelines for fish and chickens in Uganda. The event brought together a diverse group of stakeholders, including government representatives, animal health professionals, farmers, and legal experts.

Despite morning challenges due to heavy rainfall, which caused delays in participant arrivals, the workshop was highly productive and laid a strong foundation for collaborative efforts moving forward.

Workshop Highlights

The workshop was structured to gather insights, facilitate discussions, and identify key welfare priorities for fish and chickens. Some of the most engaging sessions included:

✅ Breakout Discussions: Participants engaged in discussions on welfare concerns, identifying practical solutions for issues such as stocking density, disease management, humane transport, and slaughter methods.
✅ Action Planning: Stakeholders committed to further engagement, and the working groups focused on the development of draft guidelines.

Workshop Evaluation: What Participants Said

To assess the impact of the workshop, we conducted an evaluation questionnaire, which was completed by 16 out of 18 attendees. The key takeaways include:

🔹 Overall Satisfaction: 82% of participants rated the workshop as Good or Excellent, reflecting strong engagement.
🔹 Clarity of Objectives: 63% found the workshop objectives very clear, while 12% felt clarity could be improved.
🔹 Most Valuable Sessions:
✔ Breakout discussions (Most popular)
✔ Group presentations
✔ Action planning

What We Can Improve

While the workshop was a success, participants shared valuable feedback on areas for improvement, including:

🕒 Better time management – To ensure all key discussions are thoroughly covered.
📢 Stronger stakeholder engagement – Particularly with government and regulatory bodies.
🎙 More media involvement – To raise awareness about animal welfare and the importance of these guidelines.
🐟 Deeper technical discussions – Especially on fish welfare practices.

What’s Next?

The insights from this workshop will shape the next phase of guideline drafting. Moving forward, we will:

 🔹 Draft preliminary guidelines with input from working groups.
🔹 Hold Workshop 2, which will focus on refining draft guidelines (date to be confirmed soon!).

Media Coverage of Our First Workshop

We are pleased to share that this workshop received media coverage from NTV, NSTV, and KMA Updates.

While the media focus was primarily on trade-related aspects, particularly how these guidelines could enhance the export potential of Uganda’s animal products, this is still a significant win. It highlights the economic relevance of animal welfare and presents an opportunity to further engage policymakers and industry stakeholders in the discussion.

We look forward to continued media engagement to broaden the narrative and emphasize both ethical and economic benefits of improved welfare standards.

A Call to Action

This is just the beginning! The development of animal-specific animal welfare guidelines is a collaborative process, and we encourage all stakeholders to stay engaged. If you’re passionate about improving animal welfare, sustainable food systems, and ethical farming practices in Uganda, we’d love to hear from you!

📩 Stay connected – Follow our updates and be part of the journey toward stronger animal welfare policies in Uganda!