On January 4, 2022, the official website of the National People’s Congress (NPC) announced the results of the Agriculture and Rural Committee’s deliberations on the motions proposed by the delegates to the Fourth Session of the 13th NPC.
The report says that the Bureau referred 25 motions to the Agriculture and Rural Committee for consideration, involving 14 legislative projects. Five of the motions were on the enactment of the Anti-Cruelty to Animals Law (Companion Animal Protection and Management Law), classified as proposals to address the issues raised in the motions by enacting or amending relevant laws and regulations or improving related work.
The specific results of the deliberations are as follows.
The Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and the State Forestry and Grassland Administration believe that in recent years, the legal system related to animal protection has become more and more perfect, and the decision of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on the comprehensive ban on illegal wild animal trade, the elimination of the bad habit of abusing wild animals, and the practical protection of people’s lives and health and safety, as well as the Civil Code, the Criminal Law, the Public Security Management Punishment Law, the Animal Husbandry Law, the Wild Animal Protection Law, the Experimental Animal Management Regulations, and other laws and regulations The laws, regulations, and regulatory documents all contain clear provisions on animal protection, and the relevant laws and regulations are constantly being adjusted and amended to gradually increase protection. The development of a special anti-cruelty law (Companion Animal Protection and Management Act) requires a proper relationship with existing laws and regulations on animal protection and management, and takes into account the actual situation of the country and the needs of social development, as well as religion, culture, and economic development levels.
It is proposed to improve the standard of animal protection for the whole society by improving the existing legal system and technical regulations related to animal protection, strengthening supervision and enforcement, and raising citizens’ awareness of animal protection. The Commission agrees with these views and recommends that the relevant departments of the State Council take into account the level of economic and social development and the progress of social and spiritual civilization in order to strengthen animal protection enforcement. In addition, the Commission recommends that the State Council take into account the economic and social development of the country and the progress of social and spiritual civilization to strengthen animal protection enforcement.
Editor’s note:
The report was released, and most of the movers and shakers were pessimistic, feeling that legislation was hopelessly out of reach. However, we should also see more positive factors in the report.
(1) The motion to enact the Anti-Cruelty to Animals Act (Companion Animal Protection and Management Act) is the largest number of motions proposed among all the legislative projects of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, and is the first in number, along with the motion to enact the Food Safety and Security Act, with 5 motions. (2) The report points out that the legislative work with the delegates has been quite effective and has built consensus among them.
(2) The report identifies the departments related to the anti-cruelty law (Companion Animal Protection and Management Law) as the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, which also provides a clear direction for future work and facilitates us to be more targeted and achieve twice the result with half the effort.
(3) The report proposes ways to solve the problem: improving existing laws, strengthening enforcement of animal protection, early and pilot implementation in various regions, and accumulating legislative experience. A law is a very complex and prudent process, and the recommendations of the Agriculture and Rural Committee are very pertinent and pragmatic. Support local legislation first!