Environmental advocates have warned that foreign-owned animal farms in Nigeria are engaging in unhealthy breeding practices that could endanger public health and the environment.

The alarm was raised at a media training on industrial animal farming organised by the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) and Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN).

ERA/FoEN’s Program Coordinator, Mariann Bassey, said many of these farms confine animals in unnatural conditions and rely heavily on antibiotics and growth drugs. She warned that such practices could expose consumers to health risks through contaminated meat and dairy products.

“Unhealthy animals produce unhealthy food, and that ultimately affects people’s wellbeing,” Bassey said.

The group urged government agencies to tighten regulation of foreign livestock companies by enforcing Environmental Impact Assessments, waste control, and animal welfare standards.

Program Manager at HEDA Resource Centre, Mayowa Shobo, called for transparency in land use and fair community involvement in industrial farming operations.

Public health expert Dr. Solagbade Abimbola added that the issue affects human, animal, and environmental health advocating a One Health approach to agricultural regulation.

HOMEF and ERA/FoEN also warned that without stricter oversight, Nigeria risks replicating global problems linked to industrial farming, including antibiotic resistance and environmental degradation.

“We cannot compromise public health for foreign profit,” Bassey stressed. Visit www.jocomms.com for more news.