(CN) Call for input to China's first animal welfare legislation

[Guest guest]

Pigs are force-fed dirty water to increase their weight for the market.

Foxes are skinned alive for their fur.

Bears have open wounds in their chests so people can extract their bile.

Tigers, with their tooth and claws pulled out, are chained to the ground for

picture taking.

Cats are boiled alive before they are eaten.

Dogs are clubbed and stoned to death in the name of rabies and population

control.

 

These scenes of animal cruelty are played out every minute of every day in

China. However, there is no law that protects the welfare of animals, including

wildlife and companion animals. For all animals that are in captive situations,

including endangered species, there is no law that governs how people should

keep, raise and care for these animals. Lack of legal recourse to prosecute

perpetrators even in the high profile animal abuse cases, such as the college

student pouring acid on bears at the zoo, increasingly frustrates the legal

profession and demonstrates the blank spot in China’s legal system.

 

Rampant animal abuse not only results in millions of animals suffer horribly

from cruelty, but also in the degradation of society. Witnessing these brutal

acts, the young generation of children in China would grow up thinking that it

is appropriate to treat another living creature this way. Cruel treatment of

animals also could lead to disease outbreaks, threatening people’s health and

China’s food safety.

 

The need to have legislation banning the cruel treatment of animals is

increasingly felt by Chinese people. Recently, after the cruel killing of over

40,000 dogs in Hanzhong, an online poll at www.sina.com of 63,000 people found

that 89% support the drafting of an anti cruelty legislation. Please see the

link to a CCTV story in English.

http://vod.cctv.com/html/media/NewsHour/2009/06/NewsHour_300_20090628_2.shtml

 

Last Friday at a legal conference in Beijing, China’s first draft of the

Animal Protection Law which outlines the basic standards for treating all

animals in different situations is published online for public comment. In

addition to releasing the draft animal protection law, the expert team, lead by

Professor Chang Jiwen at China’s Academy of Social Sciences also suggested

changes in China’s Criminal Law, making animal abuse a punishable offence.

China.com coverage below.

http://www.china.com.cn/news/law/2009-09/18/content_18550714.htm

 

 

The draft law outlines guidelines for disease prevention and meeting the medical

needs for animals. It covers wildlife, farm animals, companion animals, lab

animals and work animals, and stipulates welfare requirements for animals in

transport and slaughter.

 

While International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW-www.ifaw.org.cn) supports the

drafting of the first animal welfare legislation, which would make animal abuse

and cruelty a punishable offence in China, we feel that the draft could benefit

from further input from concerned citizens and animal welfare groups,

particularly in the wildlife and companion animal sections. We thus encourage

public comment and suggestions to the law during the public comment period. The

draft of the law in Chinese can be found at:

http://www.china.com.cn/news/law/2009-09/18/content_18551113.htm

 

The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its

animals are treated. –Mahatma Gandhi

 

 

 

Grace Ge Gabriel 葛芮

Asia Regional Director 亚洲地区总代表

International Fund for Animal Welfare 国际爱护动物基金会

www.ifaw.org www.ifaw.org.cn

A better world for animals and people 人与动物共享生命之美

www.ifaw.org www.ifaw.org.cn

 

 

 

 

 

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