Page 1379 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 6 April 2011
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The bill also proposes two other changes that relate to animal welfare law, although not specifically about the problems I have discussed around breeding and selling. They are important nevertheless. The first additional change amends and improves the ACT’s laws prohibiting animal cruelty. The bill proposes increases to the available maximum fines for animal cruelty and aggravated cruelty. Currently we have the lowest penalty rates for animal cruelty in the country. The changes bring ACT penalty options into line with other Australian jurisdictions, with community sentiment, and make available a greater range of penalties for cruelty offences.
The available fine is particularly important since jail terms are uncommon in animal cruelty cases. The maximum fine is also an important deterrent, particularly for people whose cruelty offences arise from breeding animals for profit and who weigh up their ability to make the profits with the risk of being caught and paying a fine.
Complementing these animal cruelty improvements or reductions is a new requirement for vets to report suspected cases of animal cruelty to authorities and a clarification to animal welfare provisions around codes of practice. These changes will facilitate animal cruelty prosecutions. Animal cruelty is currently often difficult to detect and prosecute.
The second change concerns pig farming. It outlaws intensive pig farming so that farms in the ACT will not be allowed to use sow stalls or farrowing crates. Any pig farming will only be free range. This recognises that intensive pig farming is cruel and perhaps the cruellest type of factory farming. It severely compromises pigs’ welfare. It looks even crueller than battery cage production, I have to say. While there are currently no intensive pig farms in the ACT, the change will guarantee that they can never operate in our jurisdiction. At the same time, the new law will make an important contribution to the national factory farming debate, encouraging other states to take the same progressive steps.
On the issue of consultation, I want to emphasise that the Greens have put this legislation through a very thorough development process. I first began meeting with stakeholders in early 2010. At the end of 2010, I released an exposure draft of this legislation to the community and the Assembly. I have received approximately 40 submissions during the consultation process, and this final version of the bill takes on board the submissions and other feedback I received and is an amended and improved final version.
The majority of the feedback I received on the bill was very positive, both from community and from experts who work in animal welfare. Some of the endorsements have come from the RSPCA, the Animal Welfare League, the National Desexing Network, Dogs ACT, Animals Australia, ACT Rescue and Foster, and I have had a large amount of support from the general community.
Opposition to the bill has understandably come from industry, such as some parts of the pet industry. As I said earlier, there is a large amount of money tied up in the breeding and selling of animals, and regulation looks unattractive to those who are currently profiting. I reiterate, though, that these changes will improve animal welfare
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