The Australian Bill recognizes animals as sentient beings

Australia’s smallest state, Victoria, is working on a bill to recognize animals as sentient and sentient beings. It will be the first state to take this step to improve animal welfare.

Victoria could become the first Australian state to move forward with a bill to recognize animals as sentient and sentient beings in amending its animal cruelty laws. In the proposed changes, animals are no longer ‘property’ but sentient beings. According to Guardian Australia, the draft of the long-awaited Animal Care and Protection Act will be released for public consultation next month. The final bill will be tabled in Parliament in 2024. According to a project published in 2022, the review clearly states that animals are sentient beings, meaning they are capable of feeling pain and pleasure, among other things. If passed, Victoria would become the first state to recognize animal sentience in law. The capital Canberra already recognized Animal Sentience in 2019.

Sentient and sentient beings

The government had announced six years ago that it would amend the 1986 Anti-Cruelty to Animals Act, so a parliamentary inquiry in 2019 suggested the government should modernize the law ‘on a priority basis’. Several countries such as Denmark, Spain, France, Greece and New Zealand were already ahead of Australia. In a statement, a government spokesperson said the current law was out of date:

The new Animal Care and Protection Act has been created to replace Victoria’s existing Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1986 – which has been in place for more than 35 years.”

The proposal would introduce new maintenance requirements, including provisions on nutrition, physical environment and general animal health. It is about pets, animals in farms and zoos. Three new offenses have been introduced for animal cruelty: common cruelty, aggravated cruelty and willful or reckless cruelty. An example of such a criminal offense is burning a dog with a cigarette. According to the plan, animal abuse could be punishable by a maximum fine of $240,000 (approximately €143,500) or 5 years in prison for individuals or $1.2 million (approximately €720,000) for corporations. Not everyone was happy with the move. That’s how it is Victorian Farmers’ Federation I fear that this bill, which recognizes animals as sentient beings, will give animals human rights in a roundabout way.

Animals are well protected

The bill, with new conservation measures, is expected to affect many species including octopus, squid, crab, lobster and crayfish. They are considered ‘sentient animals’ in the new bill. Member of Parliament Georgie Purcell Animal JusticeThe party welcomes this move:

“Thanks to the documentary My Octopus Teacher, I think a lot of people have learned in recent years how incredible octopuses are. However, in Victoria you can legally do terrible things to them.

He hopes the new law will stop the boiling of marine animals alive and small overcrowded tanks in restaurants. It takes some time for the animals to really improve. The amendments will come into effect two years after their adoption.

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Animals in the UK are recognized as sentient beings

©AnimalsToday.nl Sophie Jangma