Penalties for animal cruelty are insufficient to effectively deter people from committing acts of violence towards animals - we will strengthen these penalties to protect all animals. We will tackle animal cruelty as a systemic issue. We will remove the conflict of interest, and narrow view, that currently exists with the agriculture minister also being in charge of animal welfare.

Key Features

• Create a Federal Independent Office of Animal Protection (IOAP) to provide national leadership in protecting all animals from acts of violence and harm, and investigating and tackling the social determinants of animal cruelty.
• Advocate for laws to more closely reflect community values and expectations - that animal cruelty is not a low level crime as the current penalties suggest - animals must be protected and kept safe by adequately deterring acts of violence and harm.
• Bring laws in other states in line with those developed by the AJP in NSW, including the outlawing of the most cruel practices such as forced swim, strangulation and smoke tests.

What impact will this have:

• Remove the conflict of interest, and narrow view, that currently exists with the agriculture minister also being in charge of animal welfare.
• Reduce cruelty against animals.
• Bring Australia’s animal cruelty laws in line with the world’s best practice.