End poverty in all its forms everywhere: Protecting animal health can grow economies and lift hundreds of millions out of poverty. Many poor people around the world depend directly on livestock for their livelihoods. For them farm animals are a major asset - providing them with capital or their only source of income.
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End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture: Farm animals play an important role in food security, providing protein in people’s diets at global level. With our population rising, we must feed more people in the coming decade than ever before. Fewer animals lost to disease means less food waste and more milk, meat and eggs available for our tables. Livestock also provides animal traction and manure for fertilisation in crop productivity. Conserving wildlife are critical to reduce global hunger.
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Ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being at all ages: Healthier animals mean healthier people. Food sourced from animals are important to nutrition and health but can also be a threat to human health. Some animal diseases are zoonotic which can infect humans. The livestock sector is also a major contributor to global Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) – a rapidly emerging threat to human health. The One Health approach should be made a priority to attain optimal health for people, animals and the environment. Animal welfare also helps support long-term human health, which is integral to the physical and psychological health of communities.
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Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all: The learning capacity of humans depends on a healthy diet that provides protein and micronutrients. Animal-based school programmes and good husbandry initiatives can also contribute to giving children and students a quality education.
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Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls: Women are involved in caring for small ruminants, poultry and dairy cows although they have less access to resources, land and capital. Priority should be given to empowering and improving the conditions of women working in the livestock and animal sector.
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Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all: Wild animals and livestock drink large amounts of water, but water is also used to irrigate feed crops and forage and for processing animal products in dairy plants and slaughterhouses. Manure management and recycling of animal wastes are a priority to prevent water pollution and public health risks.
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Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all: Energy contained in animal manure is often neglected and partially lost. Animal manure can contribute significantly to delivering affordable and renewable energy in a wide range of production systems.
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Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all: Livestock production can help to sustain economic growth. Reducing occupational hazards for all workers in livestock supply chains by improving occupational safety and health. Through tourism, agriculture and other industries, animals naturally form the backbone of economic growth and livelihoods in many communities.
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Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation: Livestock is important to provide jobs in food processing, production and retailing. Processing of animal products are growing in emerging economies and large-scale as well as small producers should have access to markets.
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Reduce inequality within and among countries: Livestock are a source of income to poor rural households and give them a chance to participate in markets. Significant inequalities can be seen due to disparities in access to land and water. Ownership and development of small-scale livestock rearing can contribute to reducing these inequalities.
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Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable: More people are now living in cities than in rural areas. Urban agriculture and livestock provide many benefits but also present significant risks. Zoonoses can develop in the absense of proper sanitation and infrastructure particularly in developing countries. Instead of banning urban livestock the producers and sellers should be supported to practice good hygiene and upgrade their facilities and activities.
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Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns: Healthier animals have a smaller environmental footprint. Diets of the population feature more livestock products and will increase with time. Reducing animal-source food in diets could bring large environmental and health benefits. Almost one third of all food produced is lost or wasted between field and fork. By limiting wastes and losses along the supply chain we can contribute to improved efficiency and sustainability.
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Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts: Variations in rainfall and temperature e.g. heat waves and serious droughts can affect livestock production. By breeding livestock for drought resistance a significant contribution can be made to climate change.
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Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development: Our oceans, seas and marine resources must be conserved and used in a sustainable way. Over exploitation of the fish populations is a serious threat. Fishmeal, used in pig and chicken production, led to the depletion of marine life and by using alternative feed resources for livestock can help limit this depletion. By promoting adequate manure management and recycling nutrients from animal manure can also help to reduce water pollution.
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Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss: Domestic animals are also part of biodiversity and the major part of land is used for livestock. Because wildlife plays a critical role in maintaining a healthy environment, the rapid decline of biodiversity has severe ecological consequences.
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Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels: Rural conflicts can develop as there is competition for resources for livestock and wildlife. The economics of damage to crops and infrastructure, injuries and loss of life at the human/wildlife interface is important for sustainable development. Livestock is important in the food supply but can also be considered as a potential threat to biosecurity because of their exposure and vulnerability to diseases.
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Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development: To reach these goals and have a shared vision it requires partnerships between governments, private sector and civil society. In the animal and livestock sector stakeholders must join together to share knowledge, develop cutting-edge tools and promote an integrated approach for sustainable livestock.
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