Update – Senator Back’s Ag-gag Bill referred to Senate Standing Committee for review

Senator Chris Back’s Criminal Code Amendment (Animal Protection) Bill 2015, which seeks to criminalise private investigations into animal abuse, also known as an ag-gag law, was referred to the Senate Standing Committees on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport on 12 February 2015.

Submissions closed on 12 March 2015, and the Standing Committee is scheduled to hand down its report on 13 May 2015.

Animals Australia and Animal Liberation Victoria are both gathering signatures for petitions opposing the proposed bill.

A discussion paper on ag-gag laws in Australia prepared by the RSPCA can be found here.

Also see LFA’s earlier post on this topic.

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Kangaroo Culling

Around 30 million Australian kangaroos have been killed over the last decade, and at least three million young left orphaned.

Joeys remain dependent on their mothers for survival for between 18 months and about 3 years. If orphaned joeys are not killed, they die of starvation, exposure, dehydration or predation.

Under the applicable Code of Practice, small, furred pouch young (that are easily held with little struggle) must be euthanased by a forceful blow which destroys the functional capacity of the brain. According to the new Draft Code of Practice, this “may be achieved by forcefully swinging the head of the young against a solid metal object (e.g. tow bar of a vehicle).”


THE LAW

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