Anglers win: Fishing competitions to be exempt from new animal welfare laws

VRFish has gained Allan Government commitment to exempt fishing competitions from the new Animal Care and Protection Bill.

Victoria’s annual Tea Tree Snapper fishing championship is just one of many fishing events that faced having to comply with new animal welfare laws.

Recreational anglers have been buoyed by a commitment from the Allan Government to exempt fishing competitions from Victoria’s new Animal Care and Protection Bill, which is due to be tabled in parliament this spring.

In March recreational fishing lobby group VRFish warned fishing clubs faced having to comply with the new animal welfare laws when running events or face penalties of up to $57,693.

VRFish identified that while anglers gained an “exception” to offences under most parts of the Bill, anyone running a fishing competition or other event did not.

VRFish chief executive Ben Scullin said the group “won’t be supporting this Bill unless an exception for recreational fishing is provided”.

Mr Sculling said a meeting with Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action bureaucrats in April led to the government’s Animal Welfare Victoria policy director Trevor Pisciotta stating it was “not the intention of the draft Bill (to) have any impact on recreational fishing competitions”.

Dr Pisciotta also stated the government was considering if any changes were required “to give effect to the intended policy outcome to exempt recreational fishing competitions from relevant offences.

“DEECA will consider these matters in providing advice to Government on the final form of the Bill prior to its introduction to parliament, including whether any amendments to the text of the Bill are required to ensure that there are no unintended consequences for fishing competitions.”

Up until now all recreational fishing, from children landing their first catch to club competitions and game fishing, were exempt from animal welfare laws under the old Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, as long as they complied with the Fisheries Act 1995.

But while DEECA bureaucrats have made commitments to VRFish, it appears Agriculture Minister Ros Spence and her advisers have failed to understand the argument.

In response to detailed questions on the issue last week Ms Spence’s office stated: “The draft Animal Care and Protection Bill has no elements that would prevent hunting and fishing from continuing in Victoria”.

The Weekly Times responded by pointing out that the problem lay with Part 5 of the Bill, which requires all activities and events involving animals to comply with the bill, with no exception for recreational fishing events.

However MS Spence’s office failed to respond to a follow-up question on events.