NAIROBI, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The eradication of cruelty and suffering facing Africa's wildlife and domesticated animals should be at the heart of the continent's quest to attain universal goals related to food security, health and environmental sustainability, experts said Wednesday.

Speaking in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, during the launch of World Animal Protection's 2021-2030 global strategy, the experts were categorical that enhanced protection of iconic wildlife species and farmed animals will cushion African communities from hunger, malnutrition and risk of pathogens.

Nick Nwankpa, the acting director of the African Union Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR), said that a harmonious relationship between animals, humans and nature was critical to tackling climate change, disease and conflicts.

"We must secure a healthy future for our animals and their habitat by tackling threats like exploitation, illegal trade and encroachment on their natural habitats," Nwankpa said.

While acknowledging that Africa's rapid population growth and urbanization had presented new threats to animal welfare, to the detriment of public health and resilience of local communities, Nwankpa stressed that countries should enact policies and legislation that promote hygienic and environmentally sound rearing of domestic animals in a bid to promote water and food safety and eliminate anti-microbial resistance.

Tennyson Williams, the director for Africa at World Animal Protection, said that transforming the continent's food systems was key to tackling threats facing the farmed and wild animals including zoonotic diseases.

He said that implementation of the World Animal Protection's ten-year strategy will help end cruelty meted on both farmed and wild animals through policy and legislative reforms, public education and retooling conservation financing.

Victor Yamo, farming campaigns manager at World Animal Protection, said that enactment of policies that promote high animal welfare standards in the continent's food systems was key to tackling pollution, halting the spread of superbugs and restoring ecosystems' health.

Yamo believed that genetic alteration and excessive use of antibiotics were detrimental to animal welfare, adding that Africa's sustainability agenda was guaranteed through the adoption of organic livestock rearing practices. ■