SANGSAD BHABAN, July 7, 2019 (BSS) – Animal Welfare Bill, 2019 was passed
in the Jatiya Sangsad with an aim to stop cruelty towards the animals and
define duties of those owners.
State Minister for Fisheries and Livestock M Ashraf Ali Khan Khasru moved
the bill in the House which was unanimously passed by voice votes with Deputy
Speaker Fazley Rabbin Miahw in the chair.
Piloting the bill, the minister said the proposed law will replace previous
‘The Cruelty to Animals Act, 1920’.
The proposed legislature was sent to the respective parliamentary standing
committee for scrutiny and the committee was asked to submit its report
within 45 days.
The proposed law would prohibit the unnecessary killing of an animal
through using poison or keeping an animal in captivity for 24 hours.
Violators of the law will be jailed for six months or fined Tk 10,000 or
both, according to the proposed bill.
However, the rules would not be considered as cruelty if the animals are
slaughtered on religion ground, the proposed said.
According to the proposed law severing any organ of an animal or killing
any animal with poison will be considered as offence and the punishment for
this will be maximum two years imprisonment or Tk 50,000 or both.
After scrutiny, the standing committee placed the report with its
recommendation for passage of the bill in an amended form.