Following on from our previous update, the Select Committee on Animal Cruelty Laws in New South Wales has released their report entitled “Animal Cruelty Laws in New South Wales”. The report has been tabled in the Legislative Council on the 4th of June 2020. The report and its recommendations are now with the government for consideration. The report is available online, along with submissions, transcripts of evidence and other documents. Please see link: https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/committees/listofcommittees/Pages/committee-details.aspx?pk=263#tab-reportsandgovernmentresponses
Our submission was part of this process. We are supportive of the Findings and Recommendations, e.g.
Finding 3: “The committee finds that there is no reason why the Department of Primary Industries should not make public the annual reports of RSPCA NSW and AWL NSW upon receipt.”
Recommendation 2: “That the NSW Government, as part of its review of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1979, increase penalties for animal cruelty offences.”
Recommendation 5: “That the NSW Government significantly increase funding to more adequately resource and staff the RSPCA NSW and AWL NSW inspectorates to enable them to effectively perform their compliance and enforcement role and conduct regular inspections without reliance on charitable donations commencing with the 2021/2022 financial year.”
Recommendation 8: “That the NSW Government ensure that the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1979 and the animal welfare framework that supports it are overhauled to better meet growing community understanding of animal sentience and expectations about animal welfare, and to reflect modern knowledge and practices regarding the treatment of animals.”
Recommendation 9: “That the NSW Government, as part of its review of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1979, conduct extensive public consultation to ascertain community views about the new framework and ensure that the new legislation addresses modern community expectations about animal welfare.”
Recommendation 10: “That the NSW Government, as part of the review of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1979, consider statutory time limits for the prosecution of animal cruelty related crimes.”
Recommendation 11: “That the NSW Government amend the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1979 to require the approved charitable organisations to:
- table their annual reports in both Houses of the NSW Parliament
- comply with requests under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009.”
Recommendation 13: “That the NSW Government establish and fully fund a specialist unit within the NSW Police Force to investigate and prosecute animal cruelty offences.”
Recommendation 14: “That the NSW Government establish an independent statutory body, the Independent Office of Animal Protection, to oversight the animal welfare framework. Further, that the NSW Government consult stakeholders on the appropriate functions of the new body.”
The government's response is due on the 4th of December 2020. We hope these Recommendations are supported by the government and bring about meaningful and positive changes to animal welfare.