A brief overview of the issue
The notion of Animal Welfare is one that has been the subject of constant deliberation throughout both the 20th and 21st centuries, and continues to be of relevance in contemporary Australian society. This growing awareness of animal welfare has permeated throughout public opinion, which is slowly shifting to respect the inherent rights of animals. As a result, there is a greater call for commercial industries and government practises to change in accordance. Not only are state and territory governments responsible for reforming the conduct of these industries through addressing the nature of welfare laws and their upholding, but they are also often faced with the issues surrounding the population control of …show more content…
In the Australian legal system many problems arise from the animal welfare standards, especially with regard to regulations concerning the treatment of production animals. Although the state and territory governments purport to have an existing legal framework in place that governs the welfare of all animals, this is not so often the case with livestock, as the law fails to significantly address the protection of commercial animals. This exemplifies the prevailing type of approach which has come under scrutiny in recent years; one that draws large distinctions between the welfare of farming and companion animals, regardless of both categories being established sentient beings. Animal rights groups argue that this contradiction in the law is flawed, due to it being entirely based on the subjective view that renders animals protected only by their connection and purpose to …show more content…
This is often in conjunction with a hands-on care of the animals themselves, which can be seen in the case of the RSCPA. In most cases animal welfare, what even the dispute or context, centres around what Australian society considers just or humane. Over the past ten years, many such issues have been the subject of campaigning on behalf of animal welfare groups. This includes housing layer hens in battery cages, the keeping of exotic animals in circuses, mandatory desexing of dogs and cats and the confinement of sows in stalls.
In his paper on, ‘The role of animal welfare agencies in improving animal welfare’ Bidda Jones states that, “The most successful conditions for improvements in animal welfare occur when change is beneficial to a range of stakeholders, when it has associated financial advantages, when the networks are in place to ensure that new information is communicated to government and industry, and, most obviously, when public opinion is on the side of change.” Thus proving that reform is only a realistic goal when separate agencies work together to achieve reform that complements their own
The notion of Animal Welfare is one that has been the subject of constant deliberation throughout both the 20th and 21st centuries, and continues to be of relevance in contemporary Australian society. This growing awareness of animal welfare has permeated throughout public opinion, which is slowly shifting to respect the inherent rights of animals. As a result, there is a greater call for commercial industries and government practises to change in accordance. Not only are state and territory governments responsible for reforming the conduct of these industries through addressing the nature of welfare laws and their upholding, but they are also often faced with the issues surrounding the population control of …show more content…
In the Australian legal system many problems arise from the animal welfare standards, especially with regard to regulations concerning the treatment of production animals. Although the state and territory governments purport to have an existing legal framework in place that governs the welfare of all animals, this is not so often the case with livestock, as the law fails to significantly address the protection of commercial animals. This exemplifies the prevailing type of approach which has come under scrutiny in recent years; one that draws large distinctions between the welfare of farming and companion animals, regardless of both categories being established sentient beings. Animal rights groups argue that this contradiction in the law is flawed, due to it being entirely based on the subjective view that renders animals protected only by their connection and purpose to …show more content…
This is often in conjunction with a hands-on care of the animals themselves, which can be seen in the case of the RSCPA. In most cases animal welfare, what even the dispute or context, centres around what Australian society considers just or humane. Over the past ten years, many such issues have been the subject of campaigning on behalf of animal welfare groups. This includes housing layer hens in battery cages, the keeping of exotic animals in circuses, mandatory desexing of dogs and cats and the confinement of sows in stalls.
In his paper on, ‘The role of animal welfare agencies in improving animal welfare’ Bidda Jones states that, “The most successful conditions for improvements in animal welfare occur when change is beneficial to a range of stakeholders, when it has associated financial advantages, when the networks are in place to ensure that new information is communicated to government and industry, and, most obviously, when public opinion is on the side of change.” Thus proving that reform is only a realistic goal when separate agencies work together to achieve reform that complements their own