Bill to curb animal cruelty placed at JS

A bill was placed in parliament yesterday aiming to stop cruelty towards animals and define duties of their owners.

State Minister for Fisheries and Livestock Ashraf Ali Khan Khasru placed the bill titled “Animal Welfare Bill 2019”. It was sent to the respective parliamentary standing committee for scrutiny.

The committee was asked to submit its report within 45 days.

The proposed law will replace “The Cruelty to Animals Act, 1920”.

According to the proposed law, keeping an animal captive for 24 hours and other forms of cruelty have been prohibited. Violators will be jailed for six months or fined Tk 10,000 or both.

However, slaughtering of animals as per religious customs and rules would not be considered as cruelty.