ABSTRACT
Wildlife trade is an increasing problem worldwide. The activity, whether legal or illegal, causes species extinction, connects to organised crime, and contributes to social unrest. It is regulated through international, regional, and national legal frameworks. Legal wildlife trade constitutes severe breaches of wild animal rights that include suffering from diseases, injury or functional impairment, environmental challenges (such as temperature extremes and injurious structures or floors), behavioural or interactive restrictions, anxiety, fear, pain, or distress, and food and water deprivation or malnutrition. The violation of the rights of wild animals has severe implications for animal individuals and critically impacts species conservation, biodiversity, and human welfare and economies.
This chapter examines the protection of wild animal rights in the wildlife trade in East Africa as a mechanism for pursuing environmental sustainability. It focuses on three questions: What should wild animal rights consist of under the law? To what extent should these rights be protected, and who would be responsible for protecting these rights? It analyses the international, regional, and national legal mechanisms for protecting wildlife animal rights in the East Africa Community region. It further identifies the challenges of ensuring wild animal rights in the wildlife trade and provides recommendations.
