A conversation with Daniel Abiliba

Daniel, thanks so much for coming on. I would like to learn a little bit about you.

Thank you very much for having me. I come from the Upper East region of Ghana where I also attended my basic primary education and secondary education. I then went on to study veterinary medicine at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. I only recently finished my coursework there. Currently, I am doing my internships, as I prepare for my Licensing exams.

Thanks for sharing. What motivated you to study veterinary medicine?

Growing up, we used to take care of animals. I was a shepherd from a young age. My love for animals came from there and just laying with them in the fields after school. 

My interest in taking care of animals was accelerated by an incident where people in our community had died from consuming beef. When I reflected on it during veterinary school, I realized that the cow had had anthrax. It was just so interesting to me that these animals that we care for and play with can potentially affect us if we don’t properly take care of them.

When I was considering programs to study at the university, I considered veterinary medicine. I had not met a veterinary doctor in my entire life before I went to the university and it was both shocking and alarming. I figured that I could be a veterinarian to sort of intervene in this gap. 

You mentioned that you were a shepherd, and I'd love to learn about your flock. 

Yeah, we had cattle, donkeys, goats, sheep, and chickens. Donkeys and bulls were usually considered working animals. The sheep and goats were mostly tethered and we would bring them water or take them to a water source and take them to the barn in the evening. The chickens were kept in the backyard. We would feed them with the help of our grandmother early in the morning.

What was it like juggling school and work on the farm?

It was interesting but it also had its challenges. At times you would not have enough time to prepare for your studies. Personally, I loved it as I always got time to hang out with a lot of my friends since we were all shepherds. I would say it’s the best thing I could ask for as a kid since I wasn’t stuck at home with house chores and I got to play with animals and be in nature. It was the best experience growing up there.

So it sounds like you really developed some kind of a deep connection and a deep compassion and care for your flock. Can you share a bit about how that maybe also translated into your entrance into veterinary medicine and your work now with Animal Welfare League? 

At first, when I chose to study veterinarian medicine my parents were very reluctant about it but after much convincing and showing them how interested I was they supported me. 

When I started studying, I realised there was so much more I could do for animals by being a voice for them which was lacking particularly where I come from in Ghana. After some setbacks, I attended a program organised by at Animal Advocacy Africa, which paved the way for founding Animal Welfare League based in Ghana.

I'd love to hear more about that in a second, but I also like to hear about your faith background. What role has Christ played in your life and also in your career decisions?

I'm a Catholic Christian. Church was a major part of my life growing up. In junior high school, catechism [class] was a turning point of my relationship with God to a personal connection with God. I learned how to pray to God, how to share my burdens with God, how to understand His way of doing things, and how to navigate not understanding His will. 

When I was in high school, I got close to the brothers and priests of a convent near my senior high school. On Sundays after church, they would invite some of us over to talk about the readings, about Christianity, about our faith, and then about exploring different callings when it comes to the college. One day we were talking about Father Francis and the call for compassion for animals. I kept reading about it and it sort of influenced my decision to pursue veterinarian medicine. 

It also played a part when I wanted an opportunity to help animals. I figured we could create a student group together with my friends and colleagues and do something small in our own way to support animals. And that kind of just grew into Animal Welfare League when we completed school.

That's wonderful! What is Animal Welfare League working on and what are some of the big successes and challenges? 

We focus on research and community engagement. Our cage-free project encourages ethical farming, and we've convinced 61 farmers to commit to cage-free systems, impacting over 200,000 poultry. Five companies are in their final stages of publishing a cage-free commitment. In Ghana, poultry is one of the major consumed sources of animal protein, and there is an increased demand for poultry products. With the level of growth across Africa and in Ghana in particular, there needs to be ethical and sustainable farming ways to achieve our desires without abusing animals. We're also engaging with hotels and restaurants about cage-free commitments. We've also invested in educating the public on the same issues. 

Do you get a lot of pushback from this from farmers in Ghana? 

Yes, many buy into the false narrative that caged farming increases productivity and leads to a happier customer base. This is a marketing tactic that was brought to various farmers when major parts of Europe were banning cages. There has been a significant increase in the importation of poultry battery cages into Africa following the European Union phase-out of battery cages. We are still working on reversing the false narrative sold to these farmers.

Thanks so much for sharing that I'd like to transition a bit because we'll wrap up here soon about effective altruism. How is it that you heard about it? So how did you hear about it? What do you like about it? And then how does it connect with your Christianity?

I heard about effective altruism through a random post on the internet in high school. When I started working on animal welfare, effective altruism came up again. I got to interact with Lyn and Cameron who are the co-founders of Animal Advocacy and are also active in the effective altruism community. I read more on EA, did a virtual intro program, and joined a reading group. I also went ahead to create an EA university group.

I would say EA has helped me be a better Christian as it has provided me with a platform to share the gospel by encouraging animal welfare. My supervisor always says his ministry is true teaching and for me, it’s animal welfare. 

I'd like to close with one final question, which is what do you find difficult about effective altruism?

I agree with fundamental arguments on caring about the long-term future, however, it is hard to know whether what you're doing is actually making a positive difference in the right direction for that. That is why I find longtermism as a cause area is inconceivable at times.

It was great talking to you and to have this platform to share my story. I appreciate the work that you guys do at EA Christian Community and hope you guys continue the good work.