Animal Nepal Expresses Disagreement with Draft ‘Animal Service and Welfare’ Bill
Animal Nepal has formally expressed its disagreement with the draft Animal Service and Welfare Bill published by the government. Kathmandu, 29 July. Animal Nepal has requested the government to amend the draft, accusing it of failing to prioritize animal welfare adequately. The organization states that the draft prioritizes production and commercial interests, necessitating significant revisions.
In a statement released on Monday, the organization noted that the current draft does not align with the concept of an independent and comprehensive Animal Welfare Act. It complained that the long-standing demand to legally recognize animals as sentient beings has not been addressed in the draft. For over a decade, Animal Nepal has advocated for an independent animal welfare law in Nepal that legally recognizes animals not merely as production tools or property but as sentient beings capable of pain, fear, stress, joy, and perception.
The organization also noted that, in collaboration with various groups and activists working in the field of animal welfare, it developed Nepal’s first ‘Shadow Animal Welfare Act’ and submitted it to relevant government bodies. This draft was proposed as a modern and independent animal welfare law. However, the government’s current public draft emphasizes animal production, husbandry, breeding, genetic improvement, animal health, disease control, commercial regulation, and production management as its main priorities, while animal welfare is confined to a single chapter.
Animal Nepal stated, “When a law predominantly focuses on production, trade, and administrative management and relegates animal welfare to a secondary issue, it cannot truly be called an animal welfare act.” The organization insists that the Animal Welfare Act must fundamentally cover the protection, rescue, rehabilitation, transport, care, humane treatment, education, research, and enforcement mechanisms for all animals—domestic, street, working, farmed, used for entertainment or research, and those in captivity.