Discussion on Amendments to the Animal Welfare Act: Only One Meeting for Livestock?!

The multi-partisan parliamentary group aiming for zero killing of dogs and cats has established a project team for amending the Animal Welfare Act. Since its launch on August 25, 2023, the PT has held 21 meetings to hear from stakeholders and deliberate on the direction of amendments. Out of these 21 sessions, however, only one touched on livestock animals, and just one on laboratory animals.

Despite 1 billion livestock animals being killed annually, the issue remains far from the priorities of lawmakers. In the sole PT meeting addressing livestock, the discussions showed promise, but it is unlikely to expect significant amendments by 2025 at this rate. 

17th PT: Hearings on Livestock Issues

The hearings featured investors, the Animal Welfare Livestock Association, and the Animal Rights Center, who highlighted issues from their respective perspectives:

1. Investors
   • Investors, familiar with animal welfare through training provided by the group, emphasized the growing importance of animal welfare within ESG investments.
   • Concerns were raised about the low animal welfare ratings of Japan’s food companies and the current improvements in awareness among domestic investors through seminars and other initiatives.
2. Animal Welfare Livestock Association
   • It was pointed out that Japan’s livestock industry fails to adhere to the Animal Welfare Management Guidelines issued by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, as well as the standards of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).
   • There was a call to enforce these guidelines and to address the lack of legal authority for veterinarians at slaughterhouses to point out improper animal handling. For example, some facilities lack proper drinking water systems.
3. Animal Rights Center
   • Based on whistleblower reports, the low level of awareness among livestock operators was exposed. The need to standardize stocking densities and pre-slaughter stunning was emphasized.
   • The lack of stunning at over 80% of poultry slaughterhouses was highlighted as a clear deviation from international norms.

Although the lawmakers’ reactions were not dismissive, substantial challenges remain. Many lawmakers remain indifferent to genuinely improving the welfare of livestock animals.

The “Dogs and Cats First” Fallacy

For years, lawmakers have claimed, “Dogs and cats first; we’ll address livestock and animal experiments after.” This is far from true. The issues surrounding dogs and cats—such as banning the commercial sale of live animals and eliminating animal abuse—will never be fully resolved.
Rather than focusing solely on dogs and cats, attention should also be paid to livestock animals, whose suffering is far greater, and whose numbers are incomparably higher. Animal issues are not merely about animals—they encompass economics, sustainability, and public health.

Unfortunately, there are still few advocates urging immediate attention to livestock welfare. People tend to focus on the few animals directly impacting them. To readers of this article, please appeal to lawmakers: “Without groundbreaking amendments for livestock animals, any reform is meaningless.”

Trasnlated by: Seika.K