An Australian perspective on developing standards and ensuring compliance

Abstract

Australia is a federation of states and territories, each with their own parliament and animal-welfare laws. Australian animal-welfare legislation imposes a "duty of care" on people responsible for the care and well-being of animals under their management. In the livestock sector, this responsibility is mirrored by the ongoing development of standards, guidelines, and codes of practice to assist people to understand their responsibilities and to meet expectations concerning animal welfare. The Australian Animal Welfare Strategy (AAWS) is the national animal-welfare policy blueprint for sustainable improvements in animal welfare, and one of its key goals is to achieve greater consistency in the development, implementation, and enforcement of animal-welfare standards. Standards, guidelines, and model codes also inform the development of contemporary, evidence-based quality assurance programs for individual livestock industries and provide the basis for competency-based training programs for animal handlers. Australian standards have been developed for pigs and land transport of livestock, and work is progressing on national standards for cattle, sheep, horses, zoo animals, dogs, and cats. Other achievements include the development of requirements for the care and use of animals in research and teaching, guidelines for the welfare of aquatic animals, and codes of practice for the humane killing of pest animals. State and territory governments are developing a framework for consistent regulation and compliance in consultation with industries and welfare organizations.