Senator stands by animal cruelty Bill
WA Liberal Senator Chris Back has moved to defend his Bill calling for tighter regulations on reporting animal cruelty in the wake the scandal engulfing the greyhound industry.
An investigation by Animals Australia and Animal Liberation Queensland that aired on the ABC’s Four Corners this week implicated 70 greyhound trainers around Australia in “blooding”, where live animals were tied to mechanical lures and dogs incited to chase and kill them.
The report showed footage from hidden cameras of live piglets, possums and rabbits being tied to mechanical lures and flung around race tracks at high speed while being pursued and mauled by dogs.
Senator Back’s Bill, introduced to Federal Parliament last week, would obligate those with footage of animal cruelty to report the act and supply the images to authorities with minimal delay.
Those who illegally enter an animal enterprise would also be guilty of an offence under the Bill.
Mr Back yesterday denied the Bill operated as “ag-gag” legislation, which would have a chilling effect on the reporting of animal abuse.
“In a sense, it’s the opposite of ag-gag, far from gagging people from locating and reporting animal cruelty, it says the opposite,” he said.
“If they come across what is malicious cruelty to an animal, they are obliged to provide footage.”
He said he believed his Bill was ultimately complementary to investigations like those seen on Four Corners.
“In the context of what we saw on the greyhounds stuff, I guess the best illustration is in Victoria, where the RSPCA were given the footage last Wednesday and they closed that training track up immediately,” Mr Back said.
“My argument would have been if my legislation was in place, they would have been provided that information when it first happened and there wouldn’t have been a three-month delay where animal cruelty went on. That very much is the theme of my legislation.”
However, the RSPCA has previously raised concerns with Mr Back’s Bill, saying mandatory reporting should not be limited to the form in which the abuse has been documented or recorded.
The organisation has called for reporting responsibilities to be extended to all persons in a position of responsibility for the care, protection and management of animals.
