Overview
Animals are important to Victorian communities and have a valuable role in our economy. They are part of Victorian homes, farms, sport, recreational businesses and activities, natural state, research and essential services.
The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Regulations (POCTA Regulations) protect the welfare of animals in Victoria by supporting requirements set under Victoria’s primary piece of animal welfare legislation – the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1986 (POCTA Act).
The new Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (POCTA) Regulations 2019 commence on 14 December 2019, replacing the previous POCTA Regulations 2008.
The Victorian Government thanks the 2468 individuals and organisations who provided a wide variety of submissions and comments on the draft POCTA Regulations 2019.
After considering feedback from all individuals and organisations, the Government made changes to some of the proposals before finalising the regulations. Details of these changes are set out in the Engagement Summary Report, Regulations Summary and the Statement of Reasons which are provided below.
The POCTA Regulations aim to protect the welfare of animals in Victoria by supporting the state’s primary animal welfare legislation to prevent or minimise harm through regulation of specific activities.
The regulations make improvements on important animal welfare issues including:
- Animal transportation and tethering requirements
- Confinement of animals in vehicles on hot days
- Use of pain relief for mulesing of sheep
- Sale and use of appropriate fruit netting to protect wildlife
- Operational and administrative processes for rodeos
- Scientific procedure record-keeping, the sourcing of animals, and training of Animal Ethics Committee members.
New regulations
Supporting documents
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