Motunrayo Esan, an individual who has paved the way for the development of animal law in Africa, with a rich background in law, holding two advanced degrees and an expert in animal protection, has not only carved a niche for herself but also extended her expertise to empower educational institutions and government agencies in the development of legal standards on animal welfare. Esan’s foray into Animal Law as a sub-discipline of interest started when she had to write an original essay as her project in partial fulfillment of the requirements for her undergraduate degree in law at Babcock University in 2019. Her thesis was centered on exploring the need to regulate the use of Dog’s as security in Nigeria where she later developed it into a proposal for legislative reform. Still in pursuit of what has now turned into an academic career, she proceeded for a Master’s degree in Law from Babcock University as well where she drafted a Universal Declaration on Animal Protection as part of her dissertation. Afterwards, she obtained a scholarship from the International Society for Animal Rights to obtain another Master’s degree in Animal Law from the prestigious Centre for Animal Law Studies at Lewis and Clark Law School which is the first and only animal law advanced degree awarding institution in the world.
Esan has pioneered the development of the scholarship of animal law in Africa having contributed to the forthcoming Edward Elgar’s Encyclopedia on Animal Law and presented novel research at the Earth Systems Governance Radboud Conference in the Netherlands. Green Thumb Initiative, Esan’s NGO, stands as a testament to her commitment to improving the welfare of animals across the world through education and training. She is focused on developing the curricula of educational institutions and training stakeholders in the United States, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe. She adopts a clear approach in demystifying this strange concept to individuals. Esan’s high level of expertise in the area of animal law has caused an increased level of awareness globally about the field and she continues to do so having been appointed as Adjunct Professor in Africa’s first postgraduate module on Wildlife Law in Zimbabwe.
She remarks, “I predict that the next decade will feature many nations thinking differently about animals and at the bedrock of that is legislative reform. My role is in the education of all relevant bodies of the legal underpinnings that come with animal rights, the need for cultural considerations and the urgency for reform. I consider it a privilege to be at the forefront of these developments.” She shares on the need for stronger animal protection laws:
Animal sentience is a settled concept indicating that just as humans, they have the capacity to experience positive and negative feelings such as pleasure, joy, pain and distress that matter to the individual. Many countries have notable laws that protect animals with the United States leading in that aspect especially with the Biden administration signing the Big Cat Public Safety Act and Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act into law in 2022. At the moment, Nigeria neither has a singular legislation at the state or federal level that protects the welfare of animals generally nor for a particular kind of animal e.g. dogs. There is a Dogs Act, CAP 55 Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1958 which is domesticated in various States, but is aimed at preventing the spread of rabies and does not protect the welfare of dogs inherently. The preamble reads: “a law to regulate the licensing of dogs and to provide for the suppression of rabies and for related matters.”
The concept of animal cruelty is not uncommon to Nigeria. Time and time again, many news headlines take up the story of a singular incident that sparks the interest and concern of citizens but ends because the laws that protect animals are too weak to achieve any significant remedies. A recent notable incident is concerning a cherished American Pitbull named Roxie, an American bully that was ruthlessly killed in Cooperative Villa, Bodore; an estate in Lagos State, Nigeria in March of 2023. Roxie lived with her owner who had responsibility for her. Roxie was a victim of what turned out to be a costly mistake of wandering into a neighbor’s house one night she was lost. When found, Roxie was shot three times in the neck by security officials within the compound she wandered into. As indicated by the estate regulations, all stray dogs should be shot immediately, and sadly, the security officials of the estate decided to implement the barbaric regulations imposed. This incident got Nigerians concerned about the validity of such estate regulations and the legal framework as it relates to animal welfare protection in Nigeria.
Perhaps, the strongest legislation that exists for animal protection is contained in Section 495 of the Nigerian Criminal Code. A portion of it reads: “(1)Any person who‐
- cruelly beats, kicks, ill‐treats, over‐rides, over‐drives, over‐loads, tortures, infuriates, or terrifies any animal, or causes or procures, or being the owner, permits any animal to be so used; or
- by wantonly or unreasonably doing or omitting to do any act, or causing or procuring the commission or omission of any act, causes any unnecessary suffering, or being the owner, permits any unnecessary suffering to be caused to any animal; or
- conveys or carries, or being the owner, permits to be conveyed or carried any animal in such manner or position as to cause such animal unnecessary suffering; or
(f) causes, or procures, or assists at the fighting or baiting of any animal, or keeps, uses, manages, or acts or assists in the management of any premises or place for the purpose, or partly for the purpose, of fighting or baiting any animal, or permits any place to be so kept, managed or used, or receives or causes or procures any person to receive money for the admission of any person to such premises or place, is guilty of an offense of cruelty and is liable to imprisonment for six months or to a fine of fifty naira or to both such imprisonment and fine”
If enforced, the provision of this section has powerful potential. There are many states still void of legislation that prohibit animal fighting or inhumane transportation and here we have in Nigeria’s criminal code, concrete. These laws exist but they do not cover the entirety of animal welfare. The lack of a single Act in Nigerian legislation to promote animal welfare or prevent animal cruelty is a cause for concern. Due to a lack of legislation, particular wild animals, both in the wild and in captivity, as well as animals used in scientific experiments, are susceptible to abuse. Legislation brings sanity to otherwise insane situations because the state has the power to enforce it and ensure compliance.
Due to poor regulation and enforcement of pet ownership standards, animal owners tend to neglect their basic responsibilities towards these animals. The following are some of the situations the Nigerian society may have to continue to bear because regulations are not in place and enforced:
- Animal owners enjoy and exercise ownership rights over animals without taking responsibility for them by giving them the care they require such as feeding, vaccination, regular checkups and conducive environment which is morally condemnable;
- The most notorious vectors of the deadly rabies, are dogs and cats, which are also the most popular pets around. The human rabies anti-serum/vaccine is not always readily available and affordable;
- The population of companion animals if unchecked may constitute a nuisance by their number. Uncontrolled reproduction is unhealthy not only for the human but also animal population:
- Some domestic animals such as sheep, goats and pigs roaming freely, often destroy property. Dogs and cats roaming free can also destroy property, clothing or other live animals;
- Dogs are especially considered dangerous by most people other than their owners and so, where allowed to roam unrestricted or unaccompanied, constitute a threat to lawful pedestrians and other animals;
- Where quarantine facilities are not made available for keeping suspicious cases of diseased animals, the rest of the human and animal population is at risk;
- Where companion animals, especially dogs, are not required to wear identification collars or tags at all times, there is no way of contacting their owners in case of any incident or accessing their health records;
- Where dog breeders and poultry/husbandry farms operate unchecked without regulation or license, in unsanitary conditions, this could result in the spread of diseases and the breeding of unhealthy animals as well as constitute public nuisance in the community.
Closely linked to animal health is the health and well-being of humans and the sustainability of ecological systems. Thus, a society that has little or no regard for animal welfare effectively has little or no regard for its human inhabitants.
Nigeria’s first animal law lawyer, Motunrayo Esan has in various capacities, developed the jurisprudence of animal law in Africa generally and is now pushing for Nigeria’s legislative reform in this area through the NGO she runs, Green Thumb Initiative. Being an attorney licensed to practice law in the United States and in Nigeria, Esan demonstrates remarkable expertise and courage in this field. She has spoken at many conferences across the world including the United States, United Kingdom and Netherlands on her original contribution to the field of animal law. She supported the research of the Cambridge Centre for Animal Rights Law toward the publication of the world’s first animal rights law textbook and has now been recognized as an expert by Global Animal Lawyers Association (GAL) and World Animal Justice (WAJ). She has published scholarly work on global animal law and continues to lecture attorneys and students at both the undergraduate and postgraduate level on various areas of animal law including aquatic animal law, wildlife law and breed specific legislation. She leads the Animal Law Section of the Oregon State Bar in the United States and is the Secretary for the Union Internationale des Avocats (UIA) Animal Law Commission Working Group. She currently serves on the board of Animal Charity Evaluators (ACE) where she uses her expertise to evaluate animal charities worldwide.
Esan keeps pushing for the legislation reformation for animal protection. She believes it is important to have a singular Act that will prevent cruelty to animals as a starting point. She says “an animal protection Act does not just benefit the animals, but it benefits the owners of the animals as well. And this is the truth.” She adds, “the reformation of the legal regime on animal protection will be the first step in the right direction towards a better future for the welfare of animals in Nigeria.”
