China’s Groundbreaking Animal Protection Law
With the draft of China’s first animal protection law in the works, change is on the way for animals. Introduced last year, the groundbreaking law includes basic legal protection for wildlife, companion animals, animals in labs, animals who are transported, animals used for entertainment, and animals slaughtered for food, but the first draft was vague in many spots.
Christine Li at the entrance to the conference
After reviewing the first draft of the bill and offering suggestions to ensure that animal welfare standards are raised significantly, PETA Asia‘s Jason Baker and Christine Li attended last week’s International Forum on Chinese Legislation for the Protection and Management of Animals in Beijing, where they were able to look at the current version of the draft bill.
The following changes were among those made to the draft:
- A clear definition of “humane euthanasia” was added to the law.
- An emendation was included that encourages and permits the documentation of cruelty to animals—including undercover investigations—for the sake of prevention and education.
- Videos used to promote and encourage abuse were made illegal.
Jason Baker focuses intently
We are already hard at work on a new set of comments for the bill’s latest revision. We’ll keep you updated on the progress.
Posted by Rochelle Regodon
