World Health Day: “One Health, One Welfare”

Cape Town, 02 April 2026 – Ahead of World Health Day on 7 April, FOUR PAWS South Africa is urging government to integrate animal welfare into the country’s One Health framework. This approach links human, animal and environmental health and shows why animal welfare is a critical prevention tool.

Why this matters now

• Rabies remains a preventable killer.

In 2025, South Africa recorded 11 human rabies deaths and hundreds of animal cases, mainly in KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and Limpopo. FOUR PAWS champions pet vaccination campaigns and educate owners, showing how community action saves lives.

• Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) continues to disrupt animal lives and industry profits.

South Africa is still battling FMD, with outbreaks reported in all nine provinces, with KwaZulu‑Natal and the Free State being the hardest‑hit. FMD causes painful lesions, fever and lameness, leading to significant animal suffering. FOUR PAWS urges the implementation of stronger welfare practices, lower stocking densities, less transport stress and improved biosecurity, to help limit disease spread and protect both animals and the communities who rely on them.

• Avian Influenza (HPAI) threatens food security and biodiversity.

After culling 10.5 million birds in 2023, outbreaks continued in 2025, prompting South Africa’s first poultry vaccination permit. FOUR PAWS warns that mass culling is not prevention and advocates for higher-welfare farming, biosecurity and vaccination strategies to protect poultry and seabirds like African penguins.

• Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is rising.

NICD data shows growing resistance in hospitals and veterinary sectors. FOUR PAWS calls for joint surveillance and an end to routine antibiotic use in livestock.

• Big cat exploitation persists.

South Africa remains a hotspot for captive big cat breeding and commercial trade, with lions and other species bred for tourism, hunting and bone export. FOUR PAWS research shows these practices fuel welfare abuses and zoonotic risk. The organisation urges the government to close loopholes, enact the Policy Position to end captive lion breeding and accelerate a phase-out of big cat exploitation to protect biodiversity and public health.

FOUR PAWS’ asks

• Integrate animal welfare into One Health policy and budgets.
• Scale humane rabies control: vaccination, sterilisation, and education in hotspots.
• Reframe HPAI management around prevention: biosecurity, vaccination and welfare-first farming.
• Accelerate AMR stewardship: joint surveillance and responsible antimicrobial use.
• End big cat exploitation: implement a national phase-out plan, ban commercial trade and support sanctuaries for rescued animals.
• Strengthen FMD prevention through higher‑welfare farming: reduce transport stress, lower stocking densities, improve biosecurity and support humane, welfare‑centred disease management that protects animals and the communities who rely on them.

How communities can help

• Vaccinate your pets and support community drives.
• Choose plant-based food.
• Say no to big cat interaction facilities and report illegal wildlife trade.
• Advocate for animal welfare in health and biodiversity policy.

World Health Day is commemorated annually on 7 April, marking the founding of the World Health Organization (WHO) and focusing on critical global health themes. FOUR PAWS is an international animal welfare organisation working to reveal suffering, rescue animals in need and protect them. FOUR PAWS champions One Welfare, because healthier animals mean healthier communities.

For more information, please visit our website at www.four-paws.org.za