Animal Welfare Act planned

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SERDANG: Malaysia will be among the first countries in the Asean region to introduce an Animal Welfare Act for the protection and wellbeing of animals in the country.

Deputy Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Tajuddin Abdul Rahman said the draft of the bill was being fine tuned by the Attorney-General’s Chambers and would be tabled in Parliament by the end of this year.

“Once the bill is passed, all activities involving animals, whether bred or not, will come under the purview of the new Act.

“It’s is our hope that animals’ wellbeing will be taken care of and there will be no more cruelty on animals,” he told reporters after officiating the national-level Animal Welfare Day 2014 here yesterday.

Meanwhile, Malaysian Veterinary Services Department director-general  Datuk Dr Mohamad Azmie Zakaria said the department had introduced a branding mechanism to curb cattle rustling, which has become a problem of late.

He said since 2013 till May 2014, 2,393 heads of cattle worth RM2,976,430 were reported stolen in the peninsula and Labuan.

More than 500 livestock breeders and entrepreneurs from throughout the country attended the event. — Bernama