Premier of Tasmania – Next step in providing greater protection for animals

20 June 2022

Jo Palmer,

Minister for Primary Industries and Water

The Tasmanian Liberal Government takes animal welfare very critically and that’s why we’re taking motion to additional strengthen the Animal Welfare Act.

Developed with the RSPCA and key stakeholders, the draft Animal Welfare Act Amendment Bill 2022 is now open to public submissions.

The draft Bill seeks to offer greater protection for Tasmanian animals by strengthening the provisions below the Animal Welfare Act 1993 for the enforcement and prosecution of offences.

Key modification proposals embrace:

• Expanding the that means of ‘disposal’ to incorporate euthanasia, sale or rehoming;
• Reversing the onus of proof in order that an animal is assumed to belong to the particular person named because the proprietor in any animal welfare grievance except confirmed in any other case;
• Further clarifying Animal Ethics Committee approvals for animal analysis;
• Providing extra sentencing choices for animal cruelty and aggravated cruelty;
• Banning the use of pronged collars;
• Expanding authorised officer powers of entry;
• Expanding authorised officer powers to take possession of animals;
• Providing magistrates with the facility to order the seizure and rapid disposal of animals in danger;
• Reducing the time for which animal carcasses are required to be stored;
• Providing for the flexibility to require data from people who find themselves interstate; and
• Providing for early price restoration for care of seized animals.

Public submissions on the draft Bill will shut at 5pm on July 20, 2022.

This Government has beforehand bolstered the Animal Welfare Act, together with growing the penalty for aggravated cruelty to as much as $33,600 and/or a most custodial sentence of as much as 5 years imprisonment.

We take animal welfare critically and we’re delivering on our plan for extra up to date legal guidelines.

To view a duplicate of the draft Bill, and to entry background data to the proposed amendments, together with directions on easy methods to make a submission, go to nre.tas.gov.au/awa

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