Animal Welfare (Transport of Livestock) Regulations (No. 2) 2023 (Tas)

Animal Welfare (Transport of Livestock) Regulations (No. 2) 2023

I, the Governor in and over the State of Tasmania and its Dependencies in the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Executive Council, make the following regulations under the Animal Welfare Act 1993 .

11 July 2023

B. BAKER

Governor

By Her Excellency's Command,

JO PALMER

Minister for Primary Industries and Water

PART 1 - Preliminary

1. Short title These regulations may be cited as the Animal Welfare (Transport of Livestock) Regulations (No. 2) 2023 .

2. Commencement These regulations take effect on the day on which their making is notified in the Gazette.

3. Interpretation (1) In these regulations – Act means the Animal Welfare Act 1993 ; alpaca means an animal of the species vicugna pacos; bobby calf means a calf that – (a) is not more than 30 days old; and (b) is not accompanied by its mother; buffalo means an animal of the species bubalus bubalis; camel means an animal of the species camelus dromedarius; cattle means animals of the genus Bos, other than bobby calves; class of livestock means a group of livestock of the same species that share a common characteristic, such as age, size or sex or some other physiological characteristic, such as pregnancy; cold stress means a reaction, or response, by an animal to cold conditions that causes the animal physiological or psychological distress or injury; competent person – see regulation 6 ; container includes a crate, box and cage; deer includes an animal of the species cervus timorensis, dama dama, cervus elapus and cervus candensis, and any cross between those species; direct supervision – see subregulation (5) ; emu means an animal of the species dromaius novaehollandiae; foal means an unweaned horse that has not attained the age of 6 months; goat means an animal of the genus Capra, including the species capra aegagrus hircus; heat stress means a reaction, or response, by an animal to hot conditions that causes the animal physiological or psychological distress or injury; horse means an animal of the species equus ferus caballus or equus africanus asinus, or a hybrid of either of those species; humane destruction –see regulation 23(5) ; journey includes the loading and unloading of livestock onto or from a vehicle for the purposes of transportation; journey time – see subregulation (2) ; livestock means alpacas, buffalo, camels, cattle, deer, emus, goats, horses, ostriches, pigs, poultry and sheep; livestock-handling facility means a yard, enclosure, ramp, paddock or other facility used to hold livestock before or after transportation; loading density, in relation to the transportation of livestock, means the amount of space per animal in – (a) a container, pen or other enclosure holding the animal; or (b) the area of the vehicle, in which the animal is being transported, holding the animal; maximum time off water means the total number of continuous hours in respect of which each species of livestock, and each class of animal within that species, may be without reasonable access to water, as specified in Part 3 ; minimum spell duration means the minimum period of time for which a spell is required to be given for each species of livestock and each class of animal within that species, as specified in Part 3 ; ostrich means an animal of the species struthio camelus; pig means an animal of the genus Sus, including the species sus scrofa domestica; poultry means any of the following types of animals that are reared or kept in captivity for breeding, or for the production of meat or eggs for consumption, or for restocking supplies of game park enterprises: (a) domestic fowls; (b) turkeys; (c) geese; (d) ducks; (e) guineafowls; (f) quails; (g) pigeons; (h) pheasants; (i) partridges; reasonable access to water – see subregulation (3) ; sheep means an animal of the genus Ovis, including the species ovis aries; spell means a period of time in which livestock are – (a) removed from the vehicle in which they are being transported; and (b) if the livestock are being transported in containers, removed from the container in which they are being transported; and (c) provided with reasonable access to feed and water; and (d) provided with space to lie down; and (e) subjected to minimal or no handling; time off water means a period of time in which livestock are not provided with reasonable access to water; transporting, in relation to livestock – see subregulation (4) ; vehicle includes the following forms of road transportation: (a) a rigid body truck; (b) a prime mover; (c) a trailer; (d) an ancillary trailer; (e) a locomotive; (f) a wagon; (g) any other form of road transport. (2) For the purposes of these regulations, the journey time in respect of transporting livestock – (a) in the case of any livestock being transported in containers and loaded into vehicles, means the time commencing when the loading of the livestock into the containers for transport commences and ending when all of the livestock are unloaded from the containers at whichever of the following opportunities occurs first: (i) a spell for a period that is not less than the minimum spell duration specified for livestock of that particular class in Part 3 ; (ii) arrival at their final destination; and (b) in any other case, means the time commencing when the loading of the livestock onto the vehicle for transport commences and ending when all of the livestock are unloaded from the vehicle at whichever of the following opportunities occurs first: (i) a spell for a period that is equal to or more than the minimum spell duration specified for livestock of that particular class in Part 3 ; (ii) arrival at their final destination. (3) For the purposes of these regulations, livestock will be taken to have reasonable access to water if the livestock have reasonable opportunity to drink water of suitable quality and quantity sufficient to maintain their hydration. (4) For the purposes of these regulations, transporting livestock includes – (a) within the 24-hour period before the livestock are transported – (i) any assembling or holding of livestock immediately before loading; and (ii) any determination as to whether livestock are fit for transportation; and (b) loading livestock into containers prior to being loaded onto a vehicle; and (c) loading livestock, or a container of livestock, onto a vehicle; and (d) detaining livestock, or a container of livestock, on a vehicle while the vehicle is stationary; and (e) transporting livestock, or a container of livestock, on a vehicle; and (f) unloading livestock, or a container of livestock, from a vehicle or container during, or on the completion of, a journey; and (g) assembling or holding livestock in a livestock-handling facility in transit during a journey or on the completion of a journey. (5) For the purposes of these regulations, a person (the supervised person) is under the direct supervision of another person (the supervisor) if the supervisor – (a) is at the same location as the supervised person while the activity that is to be supervised is taking place; and (b) provides instructions and guidance to the supervised person in relation to the activity being supervised, if necessary; and (c) oversees and evaluates the performance of the activity by the supervised person; and (d) is able to immediately render assistance to the supervised person, if required, at any time during which the activity is being undertaken. (6) For the purpose of these regulations, a reference to lactating livestock is taken to include a reference to the dependent young of the lactating livestock.