Page 2164 - Week 06 - Thursday, 7 June 2018
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There are provisions about the release of impounded stock and fees payable to the territory to maintain and travel the impounded stock. If impounded stock are not released, the act presently provides that the impounded stock must, in the first instance, be disposed of by selling them at auction. Section 39 in part 5 of the act provides that the director-general must offer the stock for sale at auction if the stock is not released within 14 days of notice of the impounding being given.
It has become apparent that this requirement to sell at auction is not the best use of government resources and is not always the best outcome for the stock involved. The costs associated with administering the auction process when only a small number of animals are involved is not justified and there may be potential for animal welfare issues associated with keeping social animals in isolation from their normal mob-based social environment.
The requirement for the director-general to sell impounded stock by auction works well in situations involving large numbers of stock but is not as suitable when small numbers of animals or single animals are involved, and small numbers or single animals is the norm for Canberra. The bill therefore makes amendments to the Stock Act to enable the director-general to exercise some discretion when implementing solutions, in relation to impounding stock, that are more cost effective, pragmatic and avoid potential animal welfare issues associated with keeping social animals in isolation away from their normal mob-based environment.
The bill amends part 5, section 39 to provide sale of the stock as one of the options available to the director-general. The new section 39 permits the director-general to dispose of the stock by selling them at auction or other means of sale or by disposing of the stock, including destroying the stock, as the director-general considers appropriate. I would like to emphasise that the director-general can only destroy or dispose of the stock after the 14-day notice period of the impoundment has expired and it is not practicable or desirable to sell the stock because of cost, animal welfare or other reasons. I would also like to point out that the bill in no way affects the ability of a veterinary surgeon to humanely destroy an animal that is sick, diseased or injured, in accordance with section 86 of the Animal Welfare Act 1992.
I would now like to turn to the second set of amendments made by the bill. These relate to part 4 of the Stock Act, which is about travelling stock. Part 4 of the Stock Act has historically been about requiring anyone transporting stock to have a document from the government or the owner of the stock that provides ownership of the stock and point of origin of the stock. The permit system was also about tracing stock movements in case of a disease outbreak.
Since the Stock Act was made, there have been changes that affect the movement of livestock in the ACT. Much of the land that was previously rural has been repurposed for urban development, with a corresponding decrease in the number of farms and livestock. This, and better modes of vehicle transport, has resulted in the droving of stock by foot decreasing significantly. Also, the national livestock identification system, Australia’s system for the identification and traceability of stock, has expanded and provides a better way of tracing stock movements.
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