China's Groundbreaking Animal Protection Law

With the draft of China's first animal protection law in the works, change is on the way for animals. Introduced last year, the groundbreaking law includes basic legal protection for wildlife, companion animals, animals in labs, animals who are transported, animals used for entertainment, and animals slaughtered for food, but the first draft was vague in many spots.

Enter PETA Asia. After reviewing the first draft of the bill and offering suggestions to ensure that animal welfare standards be raised significantly, PETA Asia Director Jason Baker and contractor Christine Li attended last week's International Forum on Chinese Legislation for the Protection and Management of Animals in Beijing, where they were able to look at the current version of the draft bill.

Christine Li at the entrance to the conference.

Jason Baker intently focused on animal welfare.

Among the changes made to the draft were the following:

• A clear definition of humane euthanasia is included in the law.
• An emendation is included that encourages and permits the documentation of cruelty to animals—including undercover investigations—for the sake of prevention and education.
• Videos used to promote and encourage abuse are made illegal.

The tireless folks at PETA Asia are already hard at work on a new set of comments for the bill's latest revision. We'll keep you updated on the progress.

Written by Logan Scherer