Cuba publishes Decree-Law on Animal Welfare in its Official Gazette

HAVANA, Cuba, Apr 11 (ACN) Decree-Law No. 31 on Animal Welfare was published on Saturday in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Cuba, making it possible to adopt legal actions in favor of the care and better treatment of animals in the country.

The document will regulate the principles, duties, rules and purposes regarding the care, health and use of animals, to guarantee their welfare, with a "One Health" approach, in which human health and animal health are interdependent and are linked to the ecosystems in which they coexist.

The text published this Saturday in the Official Gazette No.25 extraordinary (www.gacetaoficial.gob.cu) highlights that animal welfare is understood as the adequate physical and mental state of an animal in relation to the conditions in which it lives and dies.

It refers that natural and juridical persons, owners, keepers and possessors of animals, must satisfy the basic needs of the same, according to their species and category, and are also obliged to register them.

Persons are prohibited from inducing confrontation between animals of any species and the activity of veterinarians is regulated by means of the Decree-Law.

The National Animal Health Center of the Ministry of Agriculture (MINAG) will be responsible for directing, executing, implementing and controlling the policy of the State and the Government on animal welfare, in relation to the organs and agencies of the Central State Administration, the State entities, the local organs of the People's Power and the associative forms that are linked to animal welfare.

The regulation includes the specific functions of each Ministry to favor the proper care and treatment of animals, as well as the conditions with which their owners must comply in order to guarantee the welfare they require.

The Decree-Law stipulates precise actions to be followed by the owners of productive and working animals, and also clarifies that companion animals are considered to be those species domesticated to accompany people or for their enjoyment.

The companion animals that remain in the exterior spaces of a house must have conditions that allow them to be sheltered from inclement weather, isolated from the ground and with enough space for their movement, it states.

In the case of those that are abandoned by their owners and do not have identification, or those that wander on public roads, organizations or entities, they will be collected by the competent authority, in accordance with the provisions of the Regulations of the Decree-Law.

Regarding commercialization, it is defined that those who carry out this activity must have the corresponding licenses or authorizations, according to the provisions of the legislation in force, which also applies to the persons who carry out import and export operations.

The Gazette published today also includes Decree 38: Regulation of Decree-Law 31 on Animal Welfare, signed by the Cuban Prime Minister, Manuel Marrero, and the head of MINAG, Gustavo Rodríguez, which stipulates the rules and conduct to be followed by veterinarians, agencies, and natural or legal persons.

It also lists the contraventions and the sanctions to be applied in each case, which include fines of between 500 and four thousand pesos; it also shows the pertinent channels to file complaints or disagreements.

The Animal Welfare Decree-Law, approved by the Council of Ministers last February 26, came to satisfy a need of the population and of experts and interested parties in the subject who required regulations more in line with current times.

Both the Decree-Law on Animal Welfare and the Regulations come into force ninety days after the date of its publication in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Cuba.

In this regard, the Cuban Minister of Agriculture has pointed out that although the Decree-Law may be implemented 90 days after its publication in the Official Gazette, MINAG has established certain guidelines for what it considers a first stage of work.