Sentience or Common Sense in Agriculture
Western Victoria MP Bev McArthur used an adjournment debate in Parliament to ask the Minister for Agriculture about the Victorian Government’s announcement of its intention to introduce a new animal welfare act to replace the existing legislation.
In the Directions Paper, the Minister states:
Victoria’s Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1986 (the POCTA Act) has served Victoria well in this regard, but it no longer meets the needs of animal industries, the community or government.
One of the key findings from the Economy and Infrastructure Committee’s Inquiry into the Impact of Animal Rights Activism on Victorian Agriculture was that Victoria has extremely high animal welfare standards; in fact, some of the highest in the world.
Mrs McArthur told the Parliament, “The current legislation appropriately balances the needs and rights of farmers with the importance of preventing cruelty to animals.”
Mrs McArthur said, “Any modernisation needs to recognise the success of the law to date, and maintain that careful balance.”
In the Direction Paper’s summary of proposals for the new legislation it explains that we need a new act so that we can properly recognise animal sentience. Sentience in the context of animal welfare generally refers to the ability to feel pain and pleasure. The current legislation prohibits any act that causes unreasonable pain or suffering to an animal.
Mrs McArthur said, “How much further will this new legislation have to go to satisfy the ideologues to whom this government seems beholden?”
“It is quite appropriate that legislation is reviewed periodically, but I am worried the tram-tracks-enclosed Government are preparing to introduce radical change, which would add no additional benefit to animal welfare but could make farmers’ lives impossible.”
Mrs McArthur told the Parliament, “In the animal activist inquiry, Government members produced a final report that made outrageous recommendations suggesting animal activists should be allowed to trespass on farms to secretly install surveillance equipment by way of a public interest exemption and that CCTV cameras should be mandatory in abattoirs.”
“One government member even produced a minority report rejecting report recommendations for on-the-spot fines for activist trespassers and specific data collection designed to distinguish between livestock theft by animal activists and non-activists.”
“The Labor Party cannot make up its mind on whether it supports activists who invade farmers’ homes or the agricultural industry.”
29 October 2020