Cape Town, 20 May 2025 – Global animal welfare organisation FOUR PAWS welcomes the adoption of the Pandemic Agreement at the World Health Assembly in Geneva. For the first time, the One Health approach - which acknowledges the interconnectedness of human, animal and environmental health and wellbeing - is anchored in an international, legally binding instrument, thereby recognising the importance of animal welfare for disease prevention. FOUR PAWS urges all nations to sign the treaty and rapidly implement its provisions in order to prevent pandemics at source.

FOUR PAWS welcomes this “Ode to Multilateralism”, which reaffirms governments’ commitment to international collaboration in tackling global challenges and to cross multisectoral strategies, because human health does not exist in isolation. It enables equity by empowering local communities at the frontlines of disease outbreaks, to protect themselves, animals and the environment while also safeguarding their livelihoods.

Avian Influenza: Risk of new pandemic outbreak

More than 70% of emerging infectious diseases in humans are of animal origin and driven by the way humans treat animals and their environment. The outbreak of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 in dairy cattle in the US that started in 2024, is a recent and evolving zoonotic threat. The virus has since spilled over to cats and humans, increasing the risk of mutations that could spread among humans and turn HPAI into the next pandemic. The excessive number of animals in factory farms, kept in crammed, stressful and unhygienic conditions, not allowing them to express natural behaviour, is a major contributor to the transmission, circulation, spread and mutation of avian influenza viruses. For example, around 500,000 mink, foxes and raccoon dogs were mass killed on 72 fur farms in Finland in 2023, and 141 million poultry died or were euthanised worldwide in 2022 due to H5N1 spread and mutations. Transitioning to smaller farms with higher animal welfare and phasing out high-risk practices can lower disease risks, limit culling and animal suffering, and reduce economic losses.

One Health is already a lived practice

In several countries the One Health approach is already a lived practice. One example is Uganda, which is a pioneer in the field. Having faced recurring zoonotic outbreaks including Ebola virus disease or anthrax, Uganda established a National One Health Platform to coordinate interministerial collaboration between health, veterinary, environmental and wildlife sectors and made zoonotic disease prevention and preparedness a top priority. Here you can find more information on One Health and the importance of preventing zoonotic diseases at source.  

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