Saving more wildlife
As former deputy director of corporate communications for the WWF, then secretarygeneral of the Thai Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (TSPCA) and currently the Chief Adviser to the Society, I would like to respond to Roger Lohanan’s June 16 letter on Animal Welfare Provisions. There is no intended criticism of his sentiments but we are dealing here with delicate legal matters.
In the previous constitution any citizen, with sufficient popular support, could propose legislation. The TSPCA, having been established in January 1994, I was appointed its secretary-general in 2004. I worked with others to draft the Animal Welfare Bill which was unveiled in 2006 and finally presented to the House in 2011 as the culmination of several years’ hard work in collaboration with the Lawyers’ Association of Thailand, the Government Livestock Department and various other parties concerned. The proposed bill was submitted to the house by our group under my name being the only citizens’ bill on this subject. I would like to inform your readership that this law is still pertinent and effective resulting in over 300 cases being investigated and so far over 20 convictions.
The law is in two separate parts: The first is the protection of animals from cruelty; the second covers the general welfare of animals. Since the legislation was enacted we have recently added to the Welfare Law a statement of the five freedoms: Freedom from Hunger and Thirst; Freedom from Discomfort; Freedom from Pain and Injury; Freedom to Express Normal Behaviour; and Freedom from Fear and Distress. Specific areas of care must therefore follow these precepts.
Whereas the section of the law dealing with protection from cruelty protects all animals classed as pets and “livestock”, it does not yet provide the same protection for wildlife. There is already legal protection of other aspects of wildlife in the form of Wildlife Protection Law. Therefore, the ministry’s decision to announce additional species of wildlife for the anti-cruelty law, citing five particular species, in no way implies limiting provision to these five species only. What we have now is a sound precedent and further species will be added in the future. However, I stress that great care must be taken over the progress of this work to avoid irreparable mistakes or omissions. There are many people working assiduously towards the same goal, including Khun Roger. We do not want the public to be disheartened but to help towards the cause.
SAWAN SANGBUNGLUNG Member of the Board of Directors Thai Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (TSPCA)