Animal Welfare Bill 2012 Phase 2 Survey | PetFinder.my

ONE MORE DAY till Animal Welfare Bill Phase 2 Survey closes. Have you completed it yet?

Below are some analysis we’ve compiled, which you may wish to include in your feedback:

Part II, Sec 3 (Pg. 6) indicates a 9-member Board presided by representatives of various government departments, mostly veterinary. There should be a better representation of Animal Welfare NGOs on the Board.

Part II, Sec 8 (Pg. has allowance for committees and sub committees to be established by the Board, but it is not specific in its allocation for one that is predominantly presided by NGOs.

Part III on Licensing & Registration (Pg. 9) requires licensing of “Rescue & Rehabilitation Establishments” and “Pound and Animal Shelters”. This covers all animal shelters – including home-based ones and small/medium-sized animal shelters. This may potentially expose smaller shelters and private establishments to the mercy of licenses or risk getting shut down.

Part IV, Sec 24 (6) (Pg. 14) expressly prohibits “killing by shooting with firearms”, but says nothing about strangling or poisoning them. Sec 24 (5) allows such killing if it is “humane”, but that is a subjective definition, where it can be claimed that poisoning or whatever method used is justifiably “humane”. In fact, Sec 32 (1) implicitly allows authorities to conduct the poisoning by stating that poisoning is an offence if “without lawful authority or reasonable excuse”. They should instead disallow “ALL forms of IMMEDIATE killing of animals”.

Part V, Sec 31 (1)(a) (Pg. 19) allows the killing of animals for human consumption. It does not explicitly prohibit particular species from being eaten. Which means, it is still perfectly fine to eat dogs and cats.

Part VII, Sec 35 (Pg. 23) defines an Animal Welfare Officer as a public officer appointed by the Minister. Animal Welfare NGOS like SPCA Selangor that have full-time welfare inspectors should be granted similar authority to carry out their duties as well, instead of solely relying on such appointed public officers.

Part VII, Sec 43, (Pg. 26) seems to allow Animal Welfare Officers the autonomous authority to enter any premise without warrants. The allowed purposes of “inspecting, verifying and collecting samples” are essentially no different from search and seizure. Such raids without warrants may be a potential violation of privacy.

To review the Draft or submit your feedback, please visit:
http://www.petfinder.my/links/animalwelfarebill.htm Play a role in shaping Malaysia’s Animal Welfare Bill. Complete this government survey ASAP & voice your opinions. Phase 2 Survey ends on 31 Aug 2012. Make a difference.

Source: http://www.petfinder.my/links/animalwelfarebill.htm

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