Brooke meets with World Organisation for Animal Health in Paris
Members of the International Coalition for Animal Welfare (ICFAW) at WOAH 2025, including Brooke, The Donkey Sanctuary, World Horse Welfare and SPANA.
Brooke attended the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) 92nd General Session in Paris last week, to help adopt global standards for animal health.
Between 25-29 May 2025, Brooke joined the chief veterinary officers of 183 member states to discuss the protection of animal health around the world, at Maison de la Chime.
This included a forum on how vaccines can prevent transboundary animal diseases, reducing the risk of future pandemics and antimicrobial resistance – the spread of drug-resistance pathogens in people and animals.
Director of Brooke West Africa, Emmanuel Sarr, on the panel at a WOAH side event calling on protecting donkeys from the African skin trade.
Dr Laura Skippen, Brooke’s Head of Animal Health and Welfare, said: “Antimicrobials are often used on farms to compensate for poor welfare conditions which lead to animal disease.
“Better animal welfare is key to reducing antimicrobial usage, as well as improving the lives of animals.”
Brooke was also part of a side event organised by the International Coalition for Animal Welfare (ICFAW), demonstrating how improving animal welfare can reduce the need for antimicrobials in farming.
Brooke leads the Action for Animal Health (A4AH) coalition, which in 2024 supported the United Nations’ political declaration to tackle Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), by investing in animal health.
Members of ICFAW on a panel at WOAH, including Brooke’s Head of Animal Health and Welfare, Dr Laura Skippen (inside left).
Brooke West Africa’s Director, Emmanuel Sarr and the International Coalition for Working Equids (ICWE), which Brooke is a member of, spoke at a side event on 26 May, to call on protecting donkeys from the skin trade in Africa.
Brooke and ICWE will attend The Pan African Donkey Conference (PADCo) on June 26-27 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, to support the African Union’s ban and call for wider action.
Learn more about Brooke’s work to improve animal health here.