Legally recognising animals as sentient is primarily a symbolic gesture. While recognising animal sentience does not mean animals are persons under the law, it does represent a shift away from categorising them as property.Ī dog passes out from being overcome with joy seeing its owner. The ban on live sheep exports has just been lifted. In other words, a dog is no more a legal person than the bed she is lying on. Animals as propertyįor animals in Australia, legal recognition of their sentience is a small but important step forward because it indicates a shift in thinking about the relationships between humans and animals.Īlthough animals’ ability to feel emotions may seem self-evident, historically the law has categorised animals as property. The international organisation World Animal Protection views animal sentience recognition as so important it’s the first indicator in its Animal Protection Index, which ranks 50 countries on the basis of their legal and policy commitments to animals. And it was recognised by New Zealand in 2015 in its Animal Welfare Act 1999, and by Quebec in a 2015 amendment to its Civil Code. The European Union first recognised animal sentience in 1997 in the Treaty of Amsterdam. The ACT is the first Australian jurisdiction to recognise animal sentience, but many other countries have already done so. In other words, animal industry practices that might otherwise be considered animal cruelty are exempted from the requirements of the legislation. However, the animal welfare offences created by the act don’t apply where the relevant conduct is in accordance with a code of practice. Not just activists, 9 out of 10 people are concerned about animal welfare in Australian farming The term “animal” is defined in the legislation to broadly include vertebrates such as mammals (excluding human beings), birds, fish and reptiles. The Act will also recognise the “intrinsic value” of animals and impose a “duty of care” on people to ensure good animal welfare.īut while the legislation will acknowledge animal sentience, it’s really only likely to impact our pets. Recognise that animals are sentient beings that are able to subjectively feel and perceive the world around them. What the law saysĪfter the amendments to the Animal Welfare Act 1992 (ACT) come into effect, its purposes will include to: Here’s what that means for animals, and for future legislation. In fact, the concept of animals’ sentience has become increasingly important and was recently enshrined in law in the Australian Capital Territory, an Australian first. A 59-year-old chimp’s emotional reaction to an old friend when he comes to visit.
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