Animal Welfare in Australia
Animal Welfare in Australia.
Animal Welfare Legislation:
Australian animal welfare legislation 1 is written to be “outcome based” as opposed to prescriptive. In other words an act of obvious cruelty must occur before the breach can be reported and by then, the animal has already suffered and possibly died. There is little to no PREVENTION of cruelty and suffering.
In addition, animal cruelty in Australia is a criminal offence and as such requires proof beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant engaged in an act of cruelty. The evidence required to meet this standard of proof and the extent of the investigation necessary to obtain such evidence can be a disincentive to regulating authorities to investigate and commence proceedings for offences under the animal welfare legislation.
Codes of Practice:
Unlike the animal welfare legislation in force throughout the EU, the animal welfare legislation in Australia is generally not prescriptive. Therefore, Codes of Practice relevant to each section of the industry were developed as guidelines on how to fulfill the minimum welfare standards acceptable within industry. Codes of Welfare are considered ‘voluntary’, because there is no law which unequivocally states that the codes must be obeyed. There are general exceptions however; in South Australia the Animal Welfare Act specifies certain persons who must ensure compliance with the codes in Schedule 2, and in Queensland the Animal Care and Protection Act provides that the code concerning welfare of animals in circuses is compulsory and that the code re domestic fowl is mandatory.
The codes are acknowledged as being accepted detailed minimum standards or accepted farming practice, and as such it is reasonable to expect that the industry shall comply with them.
Indeed, industry’s compulsion to meet these standards is reinforced by the fact that compliance with these codes provides a defence against a charge of cruelty or a duty of care omission under the animal welfare legislation in Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia, Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory (ie. all States except New South Wales and Tasmania).
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