New animal rights law approved in Bahrain
Manama, March 18, 2014
A new animal rights bill cleared its final hurdle when it was approved by Bahrain's Shura Council yesterday.
The new legislation is being rolled out across the GCC and has already been passed by Bahrain's MPs, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.
It unifies agricultural policy and brings GCC countries in line with standards set by international organisations concerned with animal health.
The law will now be referred to His Majesty King Hamad to be ratified.
Among the first beneficiaries could be a goat that has been stuck at the King Fahad Causeway for nine months, due to a row over veterinary clearance.
"It is wrong that a goat was stuck for nine months due to problems with documents clearing it, but that's one example of many animals that are subject to inhumanity here," said Shura Council member Abduljalil Al Oainiti
"With this law, the goat will breathe a sigh relief as its imprisonment on the causeway will finally be over."
Council chairman Ali Saleh Al Saleh joked that the goat in question should be happy after the law was approved in an urgent vote yesterday.
"The goat will be utmost happy with our decision, depending on who conveys the news to it."
The GDN reported on Friday that a Bahraini lawyer, who brought the animal from Saudi Arabia on June 25, filed a case at the Urgent Matters Court after Customs authorities blocked its release.
A judge ruled in his favour, but the owner refused to collect the goat without veterinary clearance. - TradeArabia News Service
