Animal Law Series - Animal Welfare Act 2006

Legislations and laws are not fun to read but they are important to understand. As part of my role as land-based college teacher and veterinary nurse, it came to my attention that although some people have heard about some laws, there isn't a great deal of understanding, which is especially important for animal owners and keepers. This week, we will be looking at the main piece of animal legislation.

 The Animal Welfare Act 2006 document states that is it an act to make provision about animal welfare; and for connected purposes. The entire legislation is 55 pages long, and is made up from 11 sections and 69 subsections. So great for bedtime reading but not so great for pet owners and veterinary professionals alike to get a quick understanding, especially as legislations have very specific legal terminology used.

Introductory

This is the part of the legislation that will highlight any wording that is used. An example in this act is what they use the term animal for.

Animals which are affected by this act

The Animal Welfare Act 2006 uses the word animal in its title but it doesn't cover all animals, in this act the term animal means a vertebrate other than man, in other terms any animal that has a spine. It also doesn't cover when the animals is in a foetal or embryonic form, so animals that have not yet been born. However, the earlier stage of development can be specified in the regulations by the appropriate national authority.

 So why are invertebrates (insects) not covered, this is because there is no scientific evidence that proves they are capable of experiencing pain or suffering. However, this act does state that the appropriate national authority could extend this definition of animal to include invertebrates of any description.

 Who is the appropriate national authority? In England and Wales, the appropriate national authority is the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, who at the time of writing is The Rt Hon Thérèse Coffey MP.

Protected animals

 Only animals that fall into the below categories are classed as being protected by this legislation.

1) It is commonly domesticated in the British Islands

2) It is under the control of man whether on a permanent or temporary basis

3) It is not living in a wild state

For this most animals are covered especially pets, it is animals such as wildlife where the legislation only covers them partially, for example a hedgehog that is injured must have the same welfare in a rehabilitation centre but when the hedgehog is released then the Animal Welfare Act 2006 no longer applies to that animal.

Responsibility for animals

The legislation also breaks down what they are stating as who is responsible for the animals. As a whole the person responsible for an animal are people who care caring for an animal on a permanent or temporary basis. It also states that the person who owns an animal is always regarded as being responsible for that animal.

It gets a bit tricky if the animal belongs to someone under the age of 16 years old. The wording of the act is 'a person shall be treated as responsible for any animal for which a person under the age of 16 years of whom he has actual care and control is responsible.' In other terms whoever is the parent or guardian of that person under the age of 16 is also responsible for the animals they own.

 

Prevention of Harm

This section of the legislation looks at 5 different subsections linking with what is classed as an offence; Unnecessary suffering, mutilation, docking of dogs' tails, administration of poisons and fighting.

To help understand what suffering is classed as for this legislation it states that suffering means physical or mental suffering and related expressions to be interpreted accordingly. Now you may be thinking what a vey vague statement but this actually helps make this legislation link to different species and what could be linked as suffering for one species may be different to another.

Now unnecessary suffering is when the animal experiences physical or mental suffering for no purpose. Now this section can be confusing, it took me about 50 attempts to write this one paragraph! Using what we know that is classed as suffering, to break this down further into unnecessary and necessary we have 5 key questions to ask:

1) Could the suffering be reasonably avoided or reduced?

2) Was the suffering caused due to actions that needed to be taken for licences or for codes of practice?

3) Was there a reason for the suffering, for example benefiting the animal or protecting a person, property or another animal?

4) Was the amount of suffering in proportion with the purpose of the cause of suffering?

5) Was the action needed that caused the suffering carried out by a reasonably competent and humane person?

Is there such a thing as necessary suffering? I often ask myself this question, mainly when taking my cat 'Jester' to the vets. So lets answer the above questions for taking Jester to the vets.

Jester as a kitten

1) Could the suffering be reasonably avoided or reduced? Yes, Jester has been desensitised to parts of car journey, for example, the carry box, Jester will willing enter the box and shows no signs of fear during this section of the whole process. Jester also has feliway sprayed into the box and the car 15 minutes before the journey takes place, feliway is a synthetic copy of the feline facial pheromone cats use to mark their territory as safe and secure. I have attempted desentisation with the car journey as well, starting with turning the car on, then off and then taking him back inside, and then extending this each time he has started to get more comfortable (this is a slow process and can't be rushed!). Jester also goes to the closest vets possible to reduce the travel time.

2) Was the suffering caused due to actions that needed to be taken for licences or for codes of practice? This question is not applicable to this situation, but it is still important to think about, especially if we are looking at transporting farm animals.

3) Was there a reason for the suffering, for example benefiting the animal or protecting a person, property or another animal? Yes, taking Jester to the vets for his annual vaccinations and any check ups when he is not 100% is benefiting him. This is because it reduces the risk of diseases that can be vaccinated for and any diseases or illnesses are identified as soon as possible allowing for treatment.

4) Was the amount of suffering in proportion with the purpose of the cause of suffering? I would say the 5 minute car ride is in proportion with the purpose of the suffering, the car journey is for his benefit and helps with the promotion of welfare

5) Was the action needed that caused the suffering carried out by a reasonably competent and humane person? Hopefully as a vet nurse and a pet owner I fall under this definition! I like most pet owners only want the best for my pet so I do as much as I can to help them.

With these answer I can say that I believe the suffering caused by Jester's car journey is necessary, therefore I would not be committing an offense, which is good news, especially when you get down to the penalties section.

Mutilation is classed as cutting off or causing injury to a body part so the body is permanently damaged, detached or disfigured. This section on the act prohibits procedures that interferes with sensitive tissues or bone structure of the animal, apart from those procedures for medical treatment. An offence in this section is if a person is carrying out the procedure or if they cause the procedure to be carried out.

Doberman with natural ears and tail

Doberman with cropped ears and docked tail

Docking of dogs' tails is when the whole or a part of a dog's tail is removed. The Animal Welfare Act 2006 makes this procedure illegal with a few exceptions; if the tail needs to be docked for medical treatment (e.g. a broken tail - often difficult to heal) and if the dog is a certified working dog that is not more than 5 days. What is a certified working dog, this is a dog that a Veterinary Surgeon has identified as being likely to be used for work in connection with one of the following; Law enforcement, Armed Forces, Emergency rescue, Lawful Pest control and Lawful shooting of animals. This is where this act can be a bit vague, a puppy from a litter of spaniels for example from a working dog breeder can be tail docked before they are 5 days old, especially if the breeder has an owner that intends to work the dog, however if the owner then falls through the dog can be sold as a pet.

Administration of poisons, you may be think well this is straight forward, don't give any poisons to your pets, you would be correct however there are some people in this world that wouldn't pass the final question of being a reasonably competent and humane person. Unfortunately I have seen cases of cat being poisoned by people, yes purposefully. This is why this section is important, it makes it an offense to knowingly administer any poisonous or injury causing drug or substance.

Fighting, this is something that is still going on today, this section of the legislation makes it illegal to cause an animal fight to take place or attempt to make one take place, knowingly receive money for admission to an animal fight, knowingly publicise a proposed animal fight, provide information about an animal fight to another with the intention of enabling or encouraging attendance at the fight, make or accept a bet on the outcome of a animal fight or on the likelihood of anything occurring or not occurring during the fight, taking part in an animal fight, have possession of anything designed or adapted for the use in connection with animal fight with the intention of it being used, keeps or trains an animal for use in connection with animal fights, keep any premises for animal fight usage and being present at an animal fight.

Now I'm sure you are asking why the wording of animal fights and what it means by taking part in animal fights. Within this legislation, animal fight means an occasion on which a protected animal is placed with an animal, or with a human, for the purpose of fighting, wrestling or baiting. This means that bull fighting, bear baiting, dog fighting, rat baiting, badger baiting, cockfights, just to name a few are all covered under this section. It's also an offence for a human to fight an animal.

One thing that I learnt whilst reading through the legislation that it is an offence to knowingly supply, publish, show or possess a video of an animal fight with the intention of supplying it to others, it does not cover videos that were taken outside Great Britain or before 2007 when the legislation commenced. It also doesn't cover photographs, supplying a video for an inclusion of a programme service and writing a paragraph of an animal fight. This is why documentaries around animal fights - often dog fights are able to be created.

 Promotion of Welfare

An animal’s needs shall be taken to include, these are often known as the 5 welfare needs. These are

• Need for a suitable environment
• Need for a suitable diet
• Need to be able to exhibit normal behaviour patterns
• Need it has to be housed with, or apart from, other animals
• Need to be protected from pain, suffering, injury and disease.

These 5 steps can be easy to remember but they are worded in a way that means each species gets what they need to have a healthy life.

If an inspector has the opinion that a person is failing to comply with these 5 welfare needs then a notice can be issued, these are often called improvement notices and they will include specific steps that need to be taken to comply with the 5 welfare needs, their effects and a time period of when these steps should be taken place by called a compliance period. If all the steps that were identified are taken before the end of the compliance period then there will be no offence committed.

Why have this compliance period? Unfortunately not all owners will research the needs of their pet before buying them, this compliance periods gives owners a chance to put into place everything necessary and get the information and understanding of what their pet needs. For example many people believe that a hutch sold in a pet shop is suitable for a rabbit but most of the time this is not the case.

 

Licensing and Registration

Some activity require licensing and/or registration to be able to be carry out the activity, for example Kennels and Catteries all require to be licensed, linking with the Animal Boarding Establishment Act 1963. There are lots of other legislation that link with this section of the Animal Welfare Act, such as the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) Regulations 2018 along with many more.

In some cases appropriate national authority may issues, revise and remove codes of practice for the purpose of providing practical guidance in respect of any provision made by or under this act.

 

Animals in distress

An inspector or police person may enter any premises for the purpose of searing for a protected animal, if they reasonably believes that there is a protected animal on the premises and that the animal is suffering or the circumstances of the animal do not change is likely to suffer. They can also take or arrange for steps to be taken to alleviate the animal's suffering. This doesn't authorise the euthanasia of an animal, unless a veterinary surgeon certifies that the condition of the animal it would be in the animals best interests. An inspector or a police person may euthanise without the certificate of a veterinary surgeon if it appears to them that the condition of the animal is such that there is no reasonable alternative to destroying it, and that the need for action is such that it is not reasonably practicable to wait for a veterinary surgeon.

An inspector or a police person may take a protected animal into possession if a veterinary surgeon certifies that it is suffering, or that it is likely to suffer if its circumstances do not change. An inspector or a police person may take a protected animal into possession without the certificate of a veterinary surgeon if it appears that the animal is suffering or that it is likely to do so if its circumstances do not change, and that the need for action is such that it is not reasonably practicable to wait for a veterinary surgeon.

If the animal is taken into possession by an inspector or a police person, the animal can be remove it, or arrange for it to be removed, to a place of safety, care for it, or arrange for it to be cared for on the premises where it was being kept when it was taken into possession, or at such other place where they think is fit, and mark it, or arrange for it to be marked, for identification purposes.

Veterinary surgeon may examine and take samples from an animal for the purpose of determining whether to issue a certificate on if the animal is suffering.

A magistrates’ court may order any of the following in relation to an animal taken into possession:

• specified treatment be administered to the animal
• possession of the animal be given up to a specified person
• the animal be sold
• the animal be disposed of otherwise than by way of sale
• the animal be destroyed

 

Prosecutions

A local authority in England or Wales may prosecute proceedings for any offence under this Act. A local authority means in relation to England, a county council, a district council, a London borough council, the Common Council of the City of London or the Council of the Isles of Scilly

Prosecutions can be made before the end of a 3 year period with the beginning being the date of the offence or before the end of a 6 month period beginning with the date on which the prosecutor thinks the evidence is sufficient to justify the proceedings comes to their knowledge.

Anyone found guilty of any offence could receive; imprisonment for a term not exceeding 51 weeks (6 months) or a fine that not exceeds £20,000, or they could receive both. If a person is disqualified then this can come in many different forms

1) From owning animals

2) From keeping animals

3) From participating in the keeping of animals

4) From dealing in animals

5) From transporting animals or arranging the transport of animals

The order the destruction of an animal in relation any offence will be in the interests of the animal.

Anything that has been designed or adapted for the carrying out a prohibited procedure, removing the whole or part of a dog's tail, to administer any drug or substance, or anything linked with animal fighting, is destroyed.

 

Inspectors

In this legislation, an inspector is a person appointed to be an inspector for the purposes of that provision by the appropriate national authority, or a local authority. An inspector may inspect an animal found on the premises, remove a carcass found on the premises for the purposes of carrying out a post-mortem examination on it, remove for those purposes the carcass of an animal destroyed on the premises, take a photograph of anything on the premises and require the licence holder to produce records for inspection.

 

If you managed to get this far, thank you and hopefully it has helped you understand a bit more of the Animal Welfare Act 2006, one thing to note is that this act does not apply to anything lawfully done under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.

 

References

Legislation.gov.uk. 2006. Animal Welfare Act 2006. [online] Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/45/pdfs/ukpga_20060045_en.pdf [Accessed 21 January 2023].

Gov.uk. 2021. Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. [online] Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers/secretary-of-state-for-environment-food-and-rural-affairs [Accessed 21 January 2023].