Getting 2 Zero
Legislation
Legislation is one of the elements required for progressing community wide solutions. It can provide an incentive for those contributing to a community problem to change behaviours which adversely affect others e.g. drink driving and smoking.
Legislation requires careful planning to address the problem at its source plus:
- Resources - both skilled and committed staff and an effective funding plan to cover costs of inspections and follow up to achieve compliance
- Effective strategies for:
- promotion
- clear explanation of how the legislation applies and ethical reasons for the legislation
- support programs such as subsidies and temporary care if people are unable to comply due to a lack personal resources.
If legislation is not working, crucial implementation elements may be missing. For example, desexing legislation in Australia has required desexing by the new owners at 3 or 6 months of age rather than requiring those deliberately or accidentally breeding to take responsibility for the lives they are producing. This would prevent adding more cats when there are already too many for the homes offered and available. Desexing has not been promoted at an early enough age for cats. Desexing support subsidies have not always been provided or promoted sufficiently to help people comply. See Addressing Legislation Concerns
Legislation is not a quick fix. It is a complex process of consultation to negotiate fair solutions for all parties involved, particularly animals. Through consultation, greater understanding can be developed which in turn helps to change behaviour. It requires persistence to review and adjust elements of the legislation that may not be working, and to improve implementation strategies.
Please click on the tabs on the right hand side to find recommended legislation for G2Z and what legislation is currently in place or being developed in each state/territory. It is hoped that key stakeholders will work cooperatively to develop consistent legislation nationally.