Legislators are setting out a first draft law on animal husbandry to guarantee the safety of meat while protecting farmers' livelihoods.
 |
| A vendor prepares pork at a market in Shanghai yesterday. China's far south is on high alert since one person was killed and three infected by a pig-borne disease that had left nearly 40 dead in the southwest. The latest person killed by the disease, caused by the Streptococcus suis bacterium, had handled infected pork, Xinhua news agency said on Tuesday. The three other victims, all butchers, also likely had contact with infected meat. [Reuters] | With fatal outbreaks of swine and cow-borne diseases fresh in the memory, as well as the high profile threat from bird flu, members of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress began deliberating the new legislation yesterday in Beijing.
The proposed bill, in the pipeline since 2001, will enshrine in law key policies and measures that have proven instrumental in animal husbandry development, said Shu Huiguo, vice-chairman of the NPC Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee.
"China has enacted some laws and administrative rules in relation to animal husbandry, ... but as they each deal with one aspect or link of the sector, they cannot regulate the whole process of animal husbandry production and management," Shu said.
The draft seeks to address problems in animal and fowl product quality and epidemic control, Shu said.
According to the draft law, the government should offer financial and technical support to farmers to expand and improve production.
Livestock and poultry farms should meet epidemic prevention standards and have veterinarians to serve them, according to the draft law.
In addition, farm owners will have to register their farms and establish breeding records, which will also record the use of veterinary feed and medicine.
Farmers will be required to report outbreaks to local animal epidemic prevention agencies and take measures to curb infections.
If diseased stock and birds are ordered culled, farmers are entitled to claim compensation, the draft says.
The draft bill does not include regulations on the slaughtering and circulation of meat products, as these are the remit of other laws, Shu said.
To address problems such as the weakening of gene pools, the undermining of breeding stocks, and outbreaks of animal-related epidemics, the country has an urgent need for an integrated animal husbandry law, he said.
China has 576 animal and poultry breeds or lines, ranking it among the richest in the world, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.
Over the past 20 years, however, at least 10 species have vanished and 20 more are on the verge of extinction in China due to inadequate protection measures, Shu said in explaining the draft law to the legislature.
The legislation will ensure steps are taken to protect the country's domestic animal genetic resources.
If key genetic resources are exported, the draft law states China shall share benefits arising from research and development of species.
At the National People's Congress, a bill goes through three steps of examination, called "three readings," before it is subject to vote.
The draft law on animal husbandry will undergo the first reading at the 17th meeting of the Standing Committee, scheduled to conclude on Sunday.
|
