The Model Animal Welfare Act — A Comprehensive Framework Law is a guide to modernise animal protection legislation. It is an invaluable resource for animal advocates in any country who work in the areas of public policy and legislation.
The authors are Janice Cox, MBA, who has worked in animal protection for more than 25 years and is co-founder of the book’s publication World Animal Net, and Sabine Lennkh, lawyer with a Doctorate from the University of Salzburg, Austria. Her thesis was titled The Adaptation of European and Non-European Animal Welfare Law Models to the Seychelles. Cox and Lennkh bring to this publication their considerable insight and experience.
There are three parts:
- Guiding Principles for Modern Animal Welfare Legislation–A Broad Overview
- Proposal for the Wordings of a New Animal Welfare Act
- Explanatory Notes
The book is available for free here and a published edition is also available for sale.
This extract from the Introduction frames the Model Animal Welfare Act:
This Model Animal Welfare Act has been designed to serve as a basic template and guidance document for those interested in enacting new legislation or improving existing animal protection legislation. It has been drafted using an extensive comparative law exercise, taking into account ‘best practice’ in the field. Thus it is aspirational in nature; seeking to provide the best possible structures, systems and provisions to protect the welfare of animals. This may mean that countries which are just starting to establish animal welfare requirements might decide to introduce its provisions progressively. In such cases, a strategic approach (step-wise and prioritised) is recommended. This could also be considered in cases where countries already have structures, systems and provisions that have been introduced gradually over time, but remain less than optimal. The important principle is that each country works progressively towards the best possible protection for the welfare of its animal population, and indeed – as elaborated in the Three Rs approach – the eventual reduction and replacement of any uses of animals which compromise their welfare.