The Animal Welfare Act was passed in 2006, introduced in England and Wales in early 2007, and represents the most significant change to
animal welfare law in nearly a century.
What’s changed?
The legislation in place before 2006 was the Protection of
Animals Act 1911, which was very outdated and came from a time when animals had
a very different role in society.
The Animal Welfare Act replaced this and has made some
important updates, for example in relation to cruelty and fighting offences.
Most significantly for the first time it has introduced
legislation for pet owners – giving them a legal duty of care to meet the five
welfare needs of their pets.
The law also applies to those who are responsible for
animals, such as those that breed animals or keep working animals.
The five welfare needs
This means pet owners are now legally obliged to care for
their pet properly – which most owners already do – by providing these five
basic needs:
Somewhere suitable to live
A proper diet, including fresh water
The ability to express normal behavior
For any need to be housed with, or apart from, other animals
Protection from, and treatment of, illness and injury
Animal Welfare can now act BEFORE an animal suffers
If a need is not being met, inspectors are able to serve an
improvement notice, which will clearly detail what steps the owner needs to
take – within a specific time period – to prevent an animal from suffering.
If the inspector’s advice is not followed, and the animal
will suffer if left in that situation, they now have the support of the law to
step in before the animal suffers.
Before this law was introduced, inspectors had to return
time and time again to see an animal, unable to act until the animal was
clearly suffering.
The future of animal law
The Animal Welfare Act has provided a general framework for
animal welfare law, but there’s still more progress to be made – both in
England and Wales.
In England
In England, RSPCA have been working with the Westminster
government to develop legislation for circus animals and also for primates kept
as pets.
This will form ‘secondary legislation’, which will be
attached to the Animal Welfare Act. These regulations will cover these areas in
more detail.
Other regulations on the tail docking of dogs are already in
place. And the government has now introduced Codes of Practice for the welfare
of dogs, cats, horses and primates.
The Codes provide detailed guidance for pet owners on how to
meet the welfare needs of their animals, and this information can be used by a
court to illustrate whether an owner has been complying with the Animal Welfare
Act.
You can read the Codes of Practice in full
at:www.defra.gov.uk
In Wales
In Wales, the Act has devolved the responsibility for
domestic and captive wild animal welfare issues to the National Assembly for
Wales – so Wales can pass its own ‘secondary legislation’.
This means that Wales can pass different legislation to
England and also work to their own timetable.
The Welsh Assembly has already passed legislation on tail
docking, as well as Codes of Practice for the welfare of cats, dogs, equines
and rabbits. You can read these Codes of Practice in full at: wales.gov.uk
RSPCA Cymru is currently working with the Welsh Assembly
Government (WAG) on legislation for electric shock collars, circuses, and
greyhounds.
See the Animal Welfare Act 2006 in full
at:www.legislation.gov.uk
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