Project Overview

Animals are central to the livelihood strategies of millions of people in sub-Saharan Africa. Across the continent, animals provide sources of food and income, despite the growth of more diverse modes of subsistence. However, entanglements between humans and animals often have deeply problematic consequences for health, well-being and the environment. For example, unsustainable hunting practices reduce biodiversity and risk zoonotic disease transmission, and the uncontrolled use of antibiotics in intensified farming threatens to exacerbate anti-microbial resistance. Meanwhile, against a backdrop of climate-change induced pressures, development projects try to change human-animal relations in order to enhance productivity and economic resilience.

Within this emerging dynamic it is important to reappraise the role of animals for contemporary livelihoods; the implications of human-animal relations for the wellbeing of multi-species communities; and the mechanisms of governance that seek to manage human-animal relations.