Animal Welfare Act 2006
The Animal Welfare Act 2006 (c. 45) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Overview It is the first signing of pet law since the Protection of Animals Act 1911, which it largely replaced. It also superseded and consolidated more than 20 other pieces of legislation, such as the Protection of Animals Act 1934 and the Abandonment of Animals Act 1960. The Act introduced the new welfare offence. This means that animal owners have a positive duty It outlaws tail docking of dogs for cosmetic reasons, with an exemption for "working" dogs, such as those used by the police, the armed forces or as service dogs. The Act also has an offense to remove the scent glands of skunks kept as pets. The corresponding Act for Scotland is the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006. Sections The Act is divided into several topics. Section 1 defines an "animal" as a vertebrate (other than a human) from the sub-phylum vertebrata of the phylum chordata. A "protected" animal is defined in s2 as one that is either commonly domesticated or one that is, at the time being, under the control of a person. The act also defines the