Africa's eastern most country, Somalia has a land area of 637.700 square kilometers and a coastline extending approximately 3,894 kilometers -- the longest coastline in Africa. A decade and half years before, Somalia was among the most opulent country in the African continent with various kinds of animals living both on land and in water. Unfortunately, the late civil war occurred in the country were realized to be directly affected animals as humans and now are in need of assistance; because illegal hunting, disregarding, suffering, abusive actions against the animals and also the destruction & annihilation of the forest and pastoral land had exceeded the limit that caused the animals to migrate to the neighboring countries.

However, to know more about the condition of the animals living in Somalia, we carried out research about the disgust evolution of the animals during the last 15 years and it’s been discovered that the animals are in great risk whereby some of them are suffering with lack of care and grazing, some were obliterated, and others were ill-treated in business and like cases.

During the last 15 years wild animals – elephants, lions, tigers, giraffes, buffalos, zebras, mules, deer (elk, moose, caribou, and reindeer), and so on had been isolated from the national Somali animals by brutal hunters and business people who illegally export all kinds of animal gender for financial purpose. Mainly they export the living animals and sometimes they export their skins and so on regardless to international and national law. Apart from that the forest which could be shelter for the suffering animals are being   hastily destroyed; this eventuated the animals to be obliterated or migrate to the neighboring countries like Kenya. With this research, it is understood that all kinds of the wild animals will be missed out on unless emergence assistance is provided for those animals.

There for SAWO had carried out surveys to identify:

• The Somali wild animal traders

• The places in Somalia where the wild animals exported

• Kinds of the wild animals exported

• The countries they were exported

Animal exportation is also another problem which if it is not addressed effectively, could be another critical problem to the animals in this country. Exportation of the wild animals, during the last decade and half, has increased more than 63% compared to the beginning of this area. The exported animals are consisting of wild and domestic. They are in horrible condition as they’re exported in and out of the country; they suffer while they’re transported especially, the exportation of the wild animals. In most cases, among the obliterate animals are elephants, giraffes, WIYISHA, zebras, ostrich and so on. The excessive hunting is the main cause for the wild animals and the eradication of the forest, which was their shelter. And now they are Endangers.

As we have mentioned above, animals of this country, both domestic and wild animals, are suffering with lack of care and grazing, some were obliterated, and others were ill-treated in business and like cases. Therefore SAWO started to lobby to stop this brutal action and prepared talks with Union of Islamic Courts. The main objective of these talks was to bring to an end the exportation of the wild animals in all its kinds. The illegal exportation of wild animals and charcoal has been going on here in Somalia since the collapse of 1991 of Somalia's last effective national government. Charcoal exports have stripped areas of woodland, causing drought and soil erosion, while many wild animal species are becoming rarer.

SAWO, taking the advantage of the new condition existed in Mogadishu and the new administration led by the Islamic courts and their militia who have controlled the capital, Mogadishu, since earlier 2006 had tried several times to persuade the Islamic Courts to take an action to bring to an end the illegal exportation of the wild animals and charcoal. Consequently, the Islamic Courts Union finally proclaimed a law on August 20, 2006 putting ban the exportation of wild animals and charcoal throughout the areas they govern.

Hence, 22rd of August 2006 SAWO disseminated to all the media institutions and to the Islamic Courts' Executive Committee press release congratulating the Islamic Courts Union the historical decision they made. In their press release, SAWO also requested the Somali people to help the Islamic Courts for the execution of this decision.