Animal rights: new laws to protect mental and physical wellbeing

New laws are to be enacted in Victoria, protecting animals’ mental and physical health.

Less stressed: Werribee egg producer Brian Ahmed says enshrining animal sentience in law will lead to debates based on emotion, not science.

THE Victorian Government is gearing up to draft radical new animal welfare legislation, which recognises animals as sentient beings – capable of feeling fear and other emotions.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews first flagged replacing the current Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act with new animal welfare act in October 2017, which he said would “recognise the sentience of animals, reflecting the strong evidence that exists showing animals fear and feel pain.

“This will ensure animal welfare management and legislation in Victoria develops to meet community expectations,” he said.

Little has happened since then, with the Government simply amending and redrafting existing POCTA regulations to impose penalties for leaving dogs on the back of utes, when the mercury climbs above 28 degrees, and improving netting standards on trees to stop birds and bats becoming entangled.

But the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions this month advertised for a senior policy analyst to work with: “the Minister and Executive management on legislative options to deliver a new animal welfare act”.

Agriculture Minister Jaclyn Symes office confirmed a new act would be drafted during this term of government, and would be in line with New Zealand and the European Union legislation recognising sentience.

“We know how important animals are – both to Victorian communities and to our state’s economy,” Ms Symes said.

“We have been considering the strengths and weaknesses of the POCTA legislation and consulting with stakeholders and agricultural communities to identify where our animal laws need modernising.

“Referencing sentience in any forthcoming animal welfare legislation would not change the legal status of animals as property under Victorian law, nor confer any ‘rights’ to animals themselves.”

But the Victorian Farmers Federation has heard nothing from the Government on new laws recognising sentience, with livestock president Leonard Vallance saying the concept was just “silliness” and open to interpretation.

“If you look at Europe, when this happened, activists hired lawyers to represent animals, because suddenly they have rights,” Mr Leonard said.

Former VFF Eggs vice president Brian Ahmed said the greatest problem with recognising sentience was that everyone had differing opinions on what it meant – “it’s a matter of opinion, rather than being based on science”.

“They (activists) will try and push emotion into the debate on animal welfare,” Mr Ahmed said. “Let’s face it, ask anyone if it’s better for animals to be roaming free and they’ll say yes.”

But he said the science did not back up that view, given peer-reviewed research showed chickens were more stressed outdoors and subject to higher disease, predation and overall mortality rates.

“Caged hens even beat free range, having the lowest carbon footprint,” he said.

Victoria appears to be following the Australian Capital Territory’s Government’s lead, which passed a new Animal Welfare Legislation Amendment Bill 2019 that recognises sentience last month.

ACT City Services Minister Chris Steel said the Act recognised “animals are sentient beings that are able to subjectively feel and perceive the world around them” and recognised the “intrinsic value” of animals and impose a “duty of care” on people to ensure good animal welfare.

The new ACT laws also recognises animals have a right to both mental and physical wellbeing.