<
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/nov/14/animals-sentient-beings-victorian-cruelty-laws>
"The Victorian government will follow the Australian Capital Territory and
could become the first Australian state to recognise that animals are sentient
beings, under a draft overhaul of cruelty laws to be released in the coming
weeks.
Guardian Australia understands a long-awaited draft of the animal care and
protection act will be released for public consultation next month, before a
final bill is tabled in parliament in 2024.
The new protections are expected to cover more species, including octopuses,
squid, cuttlefish, lobsters, crabs and crayfish.
This came six years after the government announced a review of the existing
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, with a view to replace it “with a modern
animal welfare act in 2019”. A 2019 parliamentary inquiry also recommended the
government modernise the act “as a matter of priority”.
In a statement, a government spokesperson said the current act was outdated.
“Work is under way for a new animal care and protection act that would replace
Victoria’s current Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1986 – which is more
than 35 years old,” the spokesperson said.
Under a plan released for consultation in 2022, the government said its new
laws would explicitly recognise animals are sentient, meaning they are capable
of feelings such as such as pain and pleasure.
Guardian Australia understood this would remain in the draft legislation.
If passed, Victorian would become the first state to recognise animal sentience
in law. The ACT did so in 2019."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
