Parliamentary League for Animal Welfare Established!

On 2020/2/19, the Parliamentary League for Animal Welfare was established as suprapartisan (including ruling, opposition, and independent parties) led by Constitutional Democratic Party members.

The introduction said that the establishment was based on a strong desire to work on animal welfare, livestock animals, and laboratory animals that are left behind in the Animal Protection Law.  Thank you to all the interested members of the Parliament.
We strongly hope that we will be able to achieve world-standard animal welfare while involving the industry.

One week prior, on February 12, a study session was held for an introduction to animal welfare with the invitation of Tohoku University Emeritus Professor Sosuke Sato.  Introduced extensively within it were the five freedoms of animal welfare, how they affect sustainability, and examples of animal behavior science.  It seemed to have been the first introduction to the concept of animal welfare for many members of the Parliament, and some members said it was difficult, but there were comments such as “I did not think it was going to be such an important task” and “I will take this seriously”.

We hope that the study sessions will continue in the future so that the members of Parliament will gain correct knowledge, and hope that animal welfare will spread in Japan to grow to a society in which animals are taken into consideration.

Charter of Establishment

Since the beginning of history, humankind has used many types of animals for a variety of purposes not only for food, but also for transportation of luggage and cultivation of fields, raw materials for a wide variety of products including clothing, research & development and scientific use for drug development, while also living together as companions and emotional friends, and by having such physical and mental connections with animals, we have built the civilization leading to modern times.

Animals, like humans, are living beings who feel pain, and beings who should also be treated with dignity.  From this perspective, that animals are mentally and physically healthy, happy, and in harmony with the environment is called “animal welfare”, and concepts to achieve this, like the “five freedoms” (freedom from hunger and thirst, freedom from discomfort, freedom from pain, injury and illness, freedom from fear and oppression, freedom to express normal behavior), have been formulated internationally.

Recently, in the Olympic / Paralympic Games, emphasis has been placed on procurement from the perspective of sustainability in accordance with the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  At this year’s Tokyo Olympics / Paralympics as well, the organizing committee’s procurement code mentions “Animal Welfare”.

However, regarding animal welfare, including the animal protection law revised last year by the parliamentary legislation, it is not sufficiently established in Japan’s legal system, and the current situation is that the understanding of animal welfare is not sufficiently wide-spread even where animals are handled daily.

In order to realize human health and a sustainable society by considering the placement of animal welfare and contributing to the spread of animal welfare in Japan, we would like to establish the “League of Parliamentary League for Animal Welfare”.