I am in deepest agreement with Dr. Martin Luther King Jnr when he said, “we are called to speak for the weak, for the voiceless, for the victims of our nation.” And I recognize the enormous wisdom worded by Mahatma Gandhi that, “the greatness of a nation can be judged by how it treats its animals.” So do I stand with Albert Schweitzer as he warned that, “until we extend our circle of compassion to all living things, we will not find peace.”
Ghana prides itself in hospitality, community, and Ubuntu — the idea that I am because we are. But “we” cannot stop at human beings. The way we treat animals is a big issue that must be on the table, and now. It is a mirror. And right now, the mirror shows a dangerous gap in our laws, our environmental considerations, and our conscience. If we do not cherish animal life, the cost will land squarely on human life: our health, our economy, our children’s future.
We have learnt to live harmoniously as Christians, Muslims, and Traditionalists. But we are yet to learn to live harmoniously with animals who breathe as we do. Ghana is a nation of ‘nkabom’ (togetherness), so we claim. We say ‘onipa nua ne onipa’ (signifying brotherhood). But our circle of “nua” cannot end at the human gate.
The dog on the street, the chicken in the market, the tilapia in the pond: their lives are stitched into ours. If we do not cherish animal life, the tear in that fabric will rip straight through human life — in our hospitals, our homes, our workplaces, and our schools.
I am not surprised, but I am disturbed that in almost all our national discourse about the ever dangerous galamsey menace, we are quick to mention how humans will lack drinking water in the near future, which is right. However, we fail to ask ourselves the sort of water being drunk by the very animals living in the areas where galamsey has devastated our water bodies. We are not concerned about that, but that is even more urgent.
In tems of legal regimes, the western world protects, whiles Ghana suggests. In the UK, the Animal Welfare Act 2006 creates a “duty of care.” You don’t have to beat a dog to be guilty. Failing to provide food, water, or vet care is a crime punishable by 5 years jail and unlimited fines. Germany writes animal protection into Article 20a of its Constitution. Switzerland banned boiling lobsters alive. The US has the FBI tracking animal cruelty as a “crime against society” because data shows animal abusers graduate to human victims.
However, in Ghana, our main law is the Animals Act, 1961 (Act 43) which is 63 years old. Section 2 punishes cruelty with a maximum fine of GH₵200 or 3 months jail. In 2026, GH₵200 won’t buy a bag of dog food. The Criminal Offences Act, 1960 Section 303 covers “ill-treatment of animals” but police rarely prosecute. We have no Animal Police, no duty-of-care doctrine, no ban on chaining dogs 24/7. The simple message is that, in the West, animal life has legal value, but in Ghana, the story is not entirely same.
With regard to enforcement, the RSPCA inspectors in the UK, ASPCA officers in New York, and Tierrechts police in Germany have power of arrest. Animal courts exist. The media shames offenders. In 2023 for instance, a UK man got 3 years for kicking a cat. The cat lived. The Ghanaian version of enforcement is rather interesting. Who do you call if your neighbour is starving his dog? Police will laugh. EPA won’t come. Vet Officers have no enforcement wing.
The GALAMSEY menace in Ghana gives a verdict that contempt for animal life scales up to ecological collapse. The Forestry Commission’s 2022–2024 monitoring reports and its State of Ghana’s Forests Report lay it bare on Forest Reserve Invasion, Wildlife Displacement & Death, Endangered Primates, Forest Elephants, Pangolins & Duikers, Aquatic life, and Birds & Insects.
As of 2024, the Forestry Commission reports 44 of Ghana’s 288 forest reserves have been invaded by illegal mining. That is 6,246 hectares of destroyed forest cover — the equivalent of 8,700 football fields.
The White-naped Mangabey and Roloway Monkey, both IUCN Red-listed, have lost over 60% of their habitat in the Western Region due to galamsey in Subri River, Tano, and Oda Forest Reserves.
The Commission recorded a 70% drop in elephant signs in Bia Conservation Area between 2018–2023. Noise, pit digging, and mercury poisoning of streams drove herds into Côte d’Ivoire, where human-wildlife conflict increased.
Bushmeat hunting spikes around galamsey camps. The Commission’s 2023 survey in Ashanti Region found pangolin captures up 300% near mining sites, pushing the species closer to local extinction.
EPA/Forestry Commission joint tests on the Ankobra and Pra show mercury levels 40x WHO limits. Result: mass fish kills. Crocodiles, otters, and kingfishers that depend on those rivers are starving or bio-accumulating poison. The Commission calls it “aquatic desertification.”
Galamsey clears canopy cover. The Commission documented the disappearance of hornbills, turacos, and bee colonies from 12 reserves. No pollinators = no forest regeneration.
The Commission concluded that, “Illegal mining has become the single greatest driver of biodiversity loss in Ghana’s high forest zone.” We poison the rivers that otters drink, then act surprised when children in Shama drink poison. The biology is the same. The contempt is the same.
On the Roads in the Western World, drivers brake for ducks. “Deer crossing” signs matter. Hitting a dog and driving off is hit-and-run. However, in Ghana, we run over goats, dogs, and humans, and blame the “stray.” Trotro drivers who swerve to kill a dog won’t swerve to save a child. Same mindset: “Life is cheap.” No wonder we record over 2,000 human road deaths yearly.
In Public Service, a mayor in the west resigns if a city shelter kills healthy dogs. Animal welfare is an election issue. Ghana is different; MMDCEs watch 44 forest reserves fall to galamsey. If we don’t care that mercury kills elephants and mangabeys, why would we care it causes birth defects in children at Tarkwa? The same contempt for animal life scales up to contempt for human life.
In the Western World, “Cage-free eggs” and “cruelty-free cosmetics” are billion-dollar markets. Companies get boycotted for animal testing. But in Ghana, we sell live chickens tied by legs on taxi roofs for hours. We cram pigs into markets with no water in the name of business. That same logic puts nurses and teachers in months of honest service without pay, crams patients into hospitals with no beds. If suffering is normal for goats, it becomes normal for humans soon.
In the Courts of Law, Western Judges grant restraining orders to protect pets in domestic violence cases. Animal sentience is a legal doctrine. Our courts in Ghana take 8 years to hear a murder case. If Act 43 values a dog’s life at GH₵200, what value does the system place on a poor man’s life? Delay is the judicial version of chaining. Of course, justice deferred is life denied.
Whiles BBC undercover films shut down puppy farms, CNN covers beached whales and outrage is swift, the Ghanaian media will not make the Forestry Commission’s wildlife body count hit the 7pm news. Galamsey videos go viral for 48hrs, then we move on. A media that can’t sustain anger for poisoned monkeys won’t sustain anger for poisoned citizens.
And sad enough, our children are watching us, probably learning from our deeds. We must urgently treat animals right in the eyes of the young ones. A child who sees adults stone dogs learns that the weak have no rights. He grows up to be the policeman who slaps suspects, the nurse who insults patients, the politician without conscience, and the judge who is partisan. A society that teaches kids to kick strays is running a free school for future tyrants and generational threat.
The West understood this. That’s why kindergartens have “class pets” and animal cruelty is flagged in schools. Ghana teaches “survival of the fittest” and wonders why all are cruel.
THE WAY FORWARD: CHERISH ANIMALS TO SAVE HUMANS
Animal Protection Unit:
Under Ghana Police Service, like MTTD. Train them. Fund them.
Enforce Forestry & Wildlife Laws:
Implement the Forestry Commission’s recommendation to create “No-Mining Red Zones” in all reserves hosting endangered species. Prosecute Wildlife Conservation breach with severe punishment.
Constitutional Amendment:
Copy Germany. Add “The State shall protect animals as fellow creatures” to Article 36. Values matter.
Education:
GES curriculum must make space for “Empathy for all life” from Class 1. You can’t teach human rights if you mock animal rights.
The Forestry Commission just told us 44 forests are dying, elephants are fleeing, mangabeys are vanishing, and rivers are aquatic deserts. That is the canary gasping. Look at how we treat animals: chained, starved, run over, poisoned by galamsey, ignored by law. Then look at how we treat ourselves: pensioners picketing, patients sleeping on floors, citizens shot at protests, villages drinking brown water. It’s the same disease. Contempt for life.
The West is not perfect. But it learned: a nation that builds shelters for dogs builds shelters for the homeless. A nation that jails a man for kicking a cat won’t tolerate a minister who kicks the constitution.
A people who don’t cherish animal life will fail human life. Ghana’s choice is simple: Start valuing the mangabey, or keep burying the children. The canary is already dead.
‘Ma wie’
The name remains Barima Sarpong
(Product of Dawu L/A, Afigya Sekyere – Jamasi)
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