ANIMAL WELFARE LAW

What protection exists for animals in Western Australia?

Dr. Maike Dorn BSc BVMS (Hons) LLB (Hons)

Overview of presentation How I became interested and involved in animal

welfare law

Some case examples

Overview of Legislation

Successful prosecution – Dawson Case

Problem of enforcement of Animal Welfare Laws

Animal Welfare Legislation fails to adequately protect many categories of animals

Photos courtesy of Second Chance Horse Rescue and Rehabilitation Inc

Doc’s Case

Animal Welfare Law is gaining momentum In 2008 the President of the Australian Law

Reform Commission stated that animal welfare and animal rights is perhaps the ‘next great social justice movement’

Law Schools now offer animal law as a subject

First textbook of animal law in Australia was published in February 2009

Animal Welfare Legislation in WA

Animal Welfare Act 2002 Animal Welfare (General) Regulations 2003

Codes of Practice Eg. Code of Practice for Animals at Saleyards in

Western Australia

(Full list of Codes available at: http://www.dlgrd.wa.gov.au/Legislation/AnimalWelfare/CodesPractice.asp?Return=True)

Animal Welfare Act 2002

Cruelty prohibition s.19(1) Duty of care provisions s.19(3)

Range of Defences s.21 – 30 Eg. Code of Practice s.25

It is a defence to a charge under section 19(1) for a person to prove that the person was acting in accordance with a relevant code of practice.

Dawson’s case Magistrates Court Western Australia 22 July

2008 Charged with ‘cruelty to animals’ under s.19

Animal Welfare Act 2002 Unloading sheep at Fremantle Port Penalty: $2500 fine and prohibited from

transporting sheep and cattle for 1 year.

Dawson Video

Enforcement of Animal Welfare Laws RSPCA

10 inspectors 3923 cruelty complaints in 2009 12 prosecutions in 2009 – 6 successful (3 dismissed, 3

pending trial)

Department of Local Government – Animal Welfare Unit 2 Inspectors

Police?? Department of Agriculture?? CALM??

My Honours Thesis

Legal Protection of Invasive

Animals in Australia:

A Paradox of Animal Welfare Law

Australia is ‘a world leader in animal welfare’

(taken from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry website)

Bear Baiting In Western Australia fighting of captive animals is

prohibited under s.32 Animal Welfare Act 2002

In other countries, animal fights are considered a ‘sport’

Code of Practice for the Capture and Marketing of Feral Animals in Western Australia (2003)

Feral pigs

Acceptable methods of capture include: …

under some conditions, e.g. in scrub or dense bush, and following trapping or

poisoning campaigns, trained dogs can be useful to locate and flush animals

out of thick cover. As there is considerable potential for injuries to dogs and

pigs, using this technique, operators need to be experienced and dogs well

trained.

Unacceptable methods of capture

The use of dogs to attack and bring down feral pigs is

unacceptable.

BUT one search on “youtube” reveals over 700 Australian videos of this:

Rosemary

Earaheedy Station Large station in the Murchison In 1999 the owners wanted to return the land to its

original state Turned off all six dams at once during a time of

drought in an attempt to “cull” the feral animal population on the station

Information provided by The Outback Heritage Horse Association of WA (Inc) Photos courtesy of Dr Sheila Greenwell and Ross Quartermaine

Photo courtesy of Dr Sheila Greenwell and Ross Quartermaine

Photo courtesy of Dr Sheila Greenwell and Ross Quartermaine

Photo courtesy of Dr Sheila Greenwell and Ross Quartermaine

Photo courtesy of Dr Sheila Greenwell and Ross Quartermaine

Why is this “legal”? Direct Exemptions of ‘Pest’ Animals from Animal Welfare

Protection Legislation Codes of Practice Lack of Enforcement Few prosecutions and low penalties

Photo: Clive A Marks

Direct Exemption 24. Defence — killing pests

(1) It is a defence to a charge under section 19(1) for a person toprove —

(a) that the act alleged to constitute the offence was donewhile the person was attempting to kill pests;

(b) that the person was attempting to kill pests in a mannerthat is generally accepted as usual and reasonable for killing

pests of the kind the person was attempting to kill; and

(c) if the animal the subject of the charge was not a pest, that the person took reasonable steps to ensure that animals other than pests would not be harmed.

(2) In this section —pest means a prescribed animal, fish or invertebrate.

Definition of ‘pest’ Animal Welfare (General) Regulations 2003

Regulation 5

5. Pests (s. 24(2))An animal set out in the list of declared animals published under section 35 of the Agriculture and Related Resources Protection Act 1976 is prescribed as a pest under section 24(2) of the Act, if —

(a) the animal is not being kept as a domestic pet;(b) the animal is not being kept for the purposes of racing, riding or harnessing;(c) the animal is not being kept for the purpose of confined display or entertainment;(d) the animal is not being kept as a form of livestock; and(e) at the time a person attempts to kill the animal, it is not under effective control of an owner.

Code of Practice for the Capture and Marketing of Feral Animals in Western Australia (2003) Does NOT include introduced wild animals such

as foxes and rabbits Outlines ‘acceptable’ and ‘unacceptable’

methods Problem with language

Eg. when ground shooting animals ‘shots should be aimed to destroy the brain or heart/great vessels of the target animal. Shooting at other parts of the body is undesirable’

Other points from My Thesis Impacts AgVet Code and 1080 Trapping in other Jurisdictions Obligation on Landholders to control invasive

animals on their land Problem with new ‘more humane’ methods