Plan for Victoria’s new animal care and protection laws
Submission overview
We commend the Victorian Government and the Legislative Reform team for producing an exceptional Plan for the state’s new animal care and protection laws (the Plan).
The Plan is clear and comprehensive and demonstrates a high level of strategic thought on what the future can hold for animal welfare in Victoria. Should it be implemented, the Plan will make Victoria a national leader in animal welfare law and regulation.
The Plan contains many positive features including:
Recognising animal sentience
Introducing decision-making principles that will apply across government
Introducing the minimum standard of care
Establishing three categories of cruelty
Establishing a framework for regulating high risk procedures and conduct
Consolidating the different categories of enforcement officers and modernising their powers
Expediating the process for rehoming seized animals
Establishing an expert advisory committee under the legislation.
Together, these features will greatly improve the clarity, consistency and operation of the legislation and provide for more robust protections for animals.
However, the Plan does miss some important opportunities to further strengthen and future-proof Victoria’s animal welfare legislative framework. The Plan does not propose to introduce regulation-making criteria, remove wide-ranging exceptions, or strengthen regulatory governance arrangements including through the establishment of an independent statutory authority to administer the legislation.
We offer several recommendations for how the Plan can be improved to create a more robust framework with stronger governance and institutional arrangements.
Any questions about our submission, please contact: Dr Jed Goodfellow (jed.goodfellow@allianceforanimals.org.au).
Read our submission
In this submission, the Alliance for Animals offers several recommendations to improve the plan for Victoria’s new animal care and protection laws to create a more robust framework with stronger governance and institutional arrangements