National Model Codes of Practice for the Welfare of Livestock
The Model Codes of Practice for the Welfare of Animals are prepared by the Animal Welfare Working Group (AWWG) within the Primary Industries Ministerial Council (PIMC) system. Membership of the AWWG comprises representatives from each of the state departments with responsibility for agriculture, the Commonwealth Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and the CSIRO.
Extensive consultation takes place with industry and animal welfare groups in the development of the Codes. They are revised on a regular basis to take account of advances in the understanding of animal physiology and behaviour, changes in animal husbandry and their relationships to the welfare of animals.
The Codes cover the husbandry of livestock species under such headings as:
- Basic welfare needs (including water, air, food, precautions against drought, protection from climatic extremes and predation)
- Intensive stocking systems
- Handling, mustering and yarding
- Management practices
- Health
- Feral stock control
- Humane destruction
The Codes of Practice are endorsed by PIMC before release as national codes. Current Model Codes of Practice are:
- Animals at Saleyards *
- Cattle *
- Domestic Poultry *
- Farmed Buffalo *
- Farming of Ostriches
- Feral Livestock Animals
- Husbandry of Captive-Bred Emus
- Intensive Husbandry of Rabbits
- Land Transport of Cattle
- Land Transport of Horses
- Land Transport of Pigs
- Land Transport of Poultry
- Livestock and Poultry at Slaughtering Establishments
- Pigs
- The Camel
- The Farming of Deer *
- The Goat *
- The Sheep *
In NSW, Codes marked * are adopted by reference into the General Regulation under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1979 It is not an offence if animals are not kept precisely as specified in the Codes but referencing them makes them admissible in proceedings for a related offence in the Act or Regulations. Even if a code is not referenced into the Regulation, it is still regarded as the minimum standard by which livestock should be kept.