Page 1808 - Week 05 - Thursday, 16 May 2019
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business and assistance animal regulatory frameworks will not come into place for six months, to provide time for government to work closely with key stakeholders and affected businesses to implement the new schemes.
Of absolute importance in this bill is a new regulatory framework for the Animal Welfare Authority that allows the authority to impose an interim ownership ban of up to six months where a person is suspected of committing serious animal welfare abuses. This reflects a zero tolerance approach to continuing to allow animal welfare abuses to occur. It also allows the authority to seize, retain, sell or rehome an animal where appropriate, and in the interests of animal welfare, and impound an animal at premises other than the Domestic Animal Services facility; for example, keeping seized puppies with an animal rescue organisation in the interests of animal welfare. This replicates changes made to the Domestic Animals Act last year.
The bill also significantly improves the offence framework surrounding animal welfare. Some of these changes include requiring a person to report the injury of a mammal within two hours, rather than the current 24 hours in the act. For example, where a car collides with a kangaroo or a dog and the animal needs urgent veterinary treatment, this will facilitate quick and efficient treatment. It will also mean action can be taken where an injured animal is a safety risk; for example, in the middle of a busy road.
The escalating enforcement framework in the bill includes new offences when people do not properly care for their animals, such as failing to provide a dog with water or shelter. These duty of care offences will be easily enforced to ensure officers can issue on-the-spot fines to protect the welfare of animals and deter further acts of cruelty happening. However, it is important to note that these offences are also based on reasonableness and do not punish responsible dog or pet owners. For example, under the bill it is an offence to closely confine a dog for 24 hours without providing exercise. This does not apply to someone who keeps their dog in their yard, house or apartment and does not have the opportunity to walk them every day. It would, however, apply in situation where a dog is tied to a pole for days on end or is kept in a cage where it cannot move.
The bill also introduces provisions to expressly ban dog fighting. The bill will make it an offence for a person to take part in animal fighting or other violent activities where an animal is used to torture or kill another animal. Importantly, this change does not affect dog sporting activities or hunting activities in the ACT like gun dog trials, unless an animal is intentionally used to injure or kill another animal.
We know that the consequences of leaving a dog in a hot car are fatal, and this is also an offence under the bill. The legislation will provide protections for a person to enter a vehicle to release an animal only in reasonable and serious circumstances where an animal’s life is in danger. People should also make sure that they appropriately restrain their dog or other animal in a moving vehicle. It is common sense that when an animal is being transported in a vehicle they are appropriately restrained to protect the animal, the driver and other road users.
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