a) An Animal Welfare Bill is being drafted which will repeal the Animals Protection Act, 1962 and the Performing Animals Protection Act, 1935.
b) The drafting and consultation towards the Animal Welfare Bill is currently limited to structures within the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development. A phase 1 Socio-Economic Impact Assessment approval for the development of the Animal Welfare Bill was granted in 2019.
c) There are no specific dates that have been set yet for the gazetting and/or release of the documents for public consultation. However, consultation with stakeholders on the Bill will be undertaken during the 2021/2022 financial year.
d) Please refer to (c) above.
e) The Department is not working on any draft amendment in relation to the subject matter. The response in (a) above clarifies that new legislation is being drafted.