Purpose:

This legislation provides for the welfare, safety, and health of animals, regulates the use of animals for scientific purposes, and prohibits cruelty and other inhumane treatment of animals.

Objectives:

• To promote and protect the welfare, safety and health of animals.
• To ensure the proper and humane care and management of all animals in accordance with generally accepted standards.
• To reflect the community’s expectation that people who are in charge of animals will ensure they are properly treated and cared for.

Key Provisions:

• Prohibition and regulation of the use of animals for scientific purposes and the business of supplying animals for scientific purposes, requiring licences and animal ethics committee approvals.
• Establishment of regulations concerning the welfare, safety, and health of animals, covering aspects such as treatment, accommodation, transportation, husbandry, and slaughtering.
• Prohibition of cruelty to animals and other inhumane or improper treatment, with specified offences and defences.
• Appointment of general and scientific inspectors with powers to enforce the Act, including entry, seizure, and direction-giving.
• Provisions for court orders additional to penalties, including prohibitions on being in charge of animals, animal removal, and forfeiture of property.
• Mechanisms for infringement notices and review of decisions made under the Act.

Evidence of Compliance Requirements For Agricultural Organisations:

Licensing and Scientific Use:

• Licence Holding: Obtain and maintain a valid licence from the Minister for using animals for scientific purposes or for carrying on a business of supplying animals for scientific purposes.
• Animal Ethics Committee Approval: For scientific use, obtain and maintain approval from the scientific establishment’s animal ethics committee, granted in accordance with the scientific use code.
• Adherence to Licence and Approval: Ensure all animals are used strictly in accordance with the specific licence conditions and animal ethics committee approval terms.
• Application Submission: Submit applications for the issue or renewal of a licence to the Minister in the prescribed form and manner, accompanied by the prescribed fee and any prescribed information.
• Additional Information Provision: Provide any other information relating to a licence application that the Minister reasonably requires for proper consideration.
• Renewal Timelines: Submit licence renewal applications at least 42 days before the current licence is due to expire.
• Animal Ethics Committee Establishment: Establish and maintain an animal ethics committee, or arrange for an animal ethics committee from another scientific establishment to act on its behalf.
• Scientific Use Code Compliance: Comply with the scientific use code for the care and use of animals for scientific purposes, demonstrating ongoing adherence through operational practices and internal records.
• Competency of Personnel: Ensure that the applicant and their staff are experienced and competent in using or supplying animals for scientific purposes and in caring for and handling animals of the kind to be used or supplied. Maintain records of staff qualifications and training.
• Animal Welfare Protection: Adequately protect the welfare, safety, and health of animals. Maintain records detailing animal care protocols, facility conditions, and health monitoring.
• Staff and Student Compliance: Take all reasonable steps to ensure that staff and students comply with all conditions to which the licence is subject. This includes implementing internal controls, training programmes, and monitoring adherence.
• Licence Display: Cause a copy of the licence to be publicly exhibited at each place where animals are used for scientific purposes or kept for supply, unless it is a field site.
• Field Site Licence Availability: For field sites, ensure a person at the site possesses a copy of the licence and makes it available to a member of the public upon request.
• Code of Practice Availability: If a code of practice is a licence condition, cause a copy of the code to be exhibited to, or make copies available to, all staff and students at each relevant place (excluding field sites).
• Code of Practice Submission: If a licence to use animals for scientific purposes is subject to a condition that a code of practice be complied with, provide a copy of the code to the relevant animal ethics committee.
• Licence Return: Deliver any suspended or revoked licence to the Minister as soon as practicable, and in any event, within 7 days after the suspension or revocation order.
• Change Notification: Notify the CEO of any change to the licensee’s name, places where animals are used or kept, or any other prescribed details within 14 days of the change occurring.

Animal Welfare (General & Agricultural Practices):

• Avoid Cruelty: Refrain from any act defined as cruelty to an animal, including torture, mutilation, malicious beating, wounding, abuse, torment, ill-treatment, using prescribed inhumane devices, intentionally or recklessly poisoning, or causing unnecessary harm.
• Proper Transportation: Transport animals in a way that does not cause, or is not likely to cause, unnecessary harm. Maintain transport logs.
• Proper Confinement and Restraint: Do not confine, restrain, or catch animals in a prescribed or unnecessarily harmful manner.
• Appropriate Use: Do not work, drive, ride, or otherwise use animals when they are unfit or have been overused, or in a manner that causes unnecessary harm. Maintain records of animal fitness for work.
• Food and Water Provision: Provide proper and sufficient food and water to animals. Maintain records of feed and water provision.
• Shelter and Protection: Provide animals with such shelter, shade, or other protection from the elements as is reasonably necessary to ensure their welfare, safety, and health. Maintain records or demonstrate provision of adequate shelter.
• No Abandonment: Do not abandon animals.
• Surgical Operations: Do not subject animals to a prescribed surgical or similar operation, practice, or activity, unless carried out by a prescribed person in a prescribed manner.
• Alleviation of Harm: Take reasonable steps to alleviate any harm suffered by an animal. Maintain animal health records and treatment logs.
• Normal Animal Husbandry: Conduct animal husbandry practices in accordance with generally accepted, humane practices (other than prescribed practices). Maintain records of animal husbandry procedures.
• Code of Practice Adherence: Act in accordance with any relevant code of practice. Maintain documentation demonstrating adherence to applicable codes.
• Stock Grazing: For stock ordinarily left to roam on pastoral property, ensure the property is reasonably capable of sustaining all the animals roaming on it. Maintain land management plans and carrying capacity assessments.
• Prohibition on Cruelty Items: Do not be in possession of any item with the intention of using it to inflict cruelty on an animal.
• Prohibited Activities: Do not engage in, spectate at, organise, promote, keep an animal for the purpose of, or allow to occur at a owned/operated place, any prohibited activities (e.g., shooting at, hunting, fighting, or chasing captive animals, other than animals of the same species).

Inspector Powers & Compliance:

• Compliance with Inspector Directions (Care): Comply with any direction given by an inspector to provide food, water, shelter, care, or treatment to an animal. Maintain records of actions taken as per direction.
• Compliance with General Inspector Directions: Comply with inspector requirements or directions related to searching places or vehicles, examining and taking samples from animals/places/vehicles/things, taking animals to specified places or vehicles, directing non-removal of animals, taking photographs/video/recordings, taking measurements, requiring containers to be opened, examining/taking extracts/copying records, giving general animal welfare directions, and assisting inspectors.
• Veterinary Procedures: Ensure that any act of veterinary medicine required or permitted by an inspector in relation to an animal is performed by a veterinarian, unless it is not reasonable to wait for one. Maintain veterinary records.
• Compliance with Remedial Directions: If a scientific inspector issues a written direction to remedy a failure to comply with licence conditions, the licensee and all staff and students must comply. Maintain records of remedial actions.
• Information Provision: Provide name, usual place of residence, date of birth, and licence/staff status truthfully when requested by an inspector.
• Truthful Information: Do not give information that is known to be false or misleading in a material particular to the Minister (re: licence/application), an animal ethics committee (re: approval), or an inspector.
• Non-Obstruction: Do not hinder, obstruct, abuse, or threaten an inspector or any person assisting an inspector.
• Cessation of Continuing Offences: Promptly cease any prohibited actions or commence any required actions upon receiving written notice of a continuing offence from an inspector.
• Court Order Compliance: Comply with any orders made by a court upon conviction, which may include prohibitions on being in charge of animals, animal removal, property forfeiture, animal destruction, reimbursement of costs, licence suspension/revocation, or licence disqualification. Maintain records of adherence to court orders.

Metadata Keywords:

Animal welfare, animal husbandry, livestock, scientific research, animal cruelty, Western Australia, licensing, compliance, inspectors, enforcement.

Publication Information:

Publication date: 26 Nov 2024 Version number: 03-a0-00

Agricultural Industry Alignment:

Beef & Veal, Chicken, Dairy, Eggs, Pig, Sheep Meat, Wool.

Date Added to database:

This document was parsed and added to the database on 25-07-2025

URL:

https://www.legislation.wa.gov.au/legislation/statutes.nsf/RedirectURL?OpenAgent&query=mrdoc_47957.pdf →