– in favour of more contemporary regulations, better standards

DESPITE some dissent from the Parliamentary Opposition, the National Assembly late Monday passed the Animal Welfare Bill, which seeks to change the approach to the care of animals by implementing contemporary regulations.

Prior to the passage of the Bill, the House adopted a report which was prepared by the Special Select Committee on the Animal Welfare Bill 2016.
That committee was tasked with examining the Bill, clause by clause, with the assistance of technical officers, said its chairman, Dr. George Norton during his presentation to the National Assembly on Monday.

The Bill was sent to the committee after its second reading on February 9, 2017, and during its review, the concerns of members of the Opposition were taken on board.
Dr Norton said that among those concerns were that regulations which dealt with issues such as animal handlers, trainers and the transportation of animals should have been made available before the passage of the Bill.

The opposition had also contended that the Bill referred to facilities which were not built, but should be constructed before the implementation of the Act.
Among other concerns that were raised had to do with whether persons would incur additional costs because of the new legislation, and if they would be penalised after the Act was implemented.

After considering those and other concerns, Dr Norton said at a meeting on June 14, 2018 that the committee had agreed that the report should be presented to the National Assembly.

Minister of Agriculture, Noel Holder expressed satisfaction with the Bill, as out of 40 clauses, 21 were amended, and three new ones were added.

The minister argued that the Bill will ensure that Guyana is ready to access the export market for non-traditional agricultural products, because the country will be up-to-date with international standards, particularly those of the European Union (EU) and the US.
He said the Bill in its present form also aims to improve animal health and safety by ensuring that the protection and wellbeing of domestic animals are considered, especially with regard to their shelter, food supply and humane treatment.

“The future of animal production is headed towards prioritisation of environmental and animal welfare matters related to the exploitation of the different animal species,” Minister Holder said.

“Through modernisation of our production systems, with sustainable welfare and environmental practices, we can achieve the impacts on growth, meat quality and profitability, thereby enhancing our export possibilities,” he added.
As he went on to explain, improving the welfare of animals will result in improved productivity and benefit home consumption and exports.

While the Bill had many positive outlooks, Opposition Member of Parliament (MP), Zulfikar Mustapha argued that the new regulations would be burdensome to local farmers, because they will require them sourcing additional funds for operational purposes.

Mustapha’s argument was roundly supported by fellow Opposition MP, Alister Charlie who contended that the Bill only caters for urban farmers and neglects those in the rural areas.
Dr. Norton sought to respond to their arguments by reminding them that technical officers from the Ministry of Agriculture and other stakeholders were involved in the process of reviewing the legislation.