{"id":157726,"date":"2026-08-08T14:24:02","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T21:24:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=157726"},"modified":"2026-08-08T14:24:02","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T21:24:02","slug":"why-sri-lankas-pro-butcher-anti-animal-animal-cruelty-act-of-2022-should-not-be-passed-as-it-is-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2026\/08\/08\/why-sri-lankas-pro-butcher-anti-animal-animal-cruelty-act-of-2022-should-not-be-passed-as-it-is-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Sri Lanka&#8217;s Pro-butcher, Anti-Animal, Animal &#8220;Cruelty&#8221; Act of 2022 should not be passed as it is"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em>Justice for Animals and Nature<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Why Sri Lanka&#039;s Pro-butcher, Anti-Animal, Animal &quot;Cruelty&quot; Act of 2022 should not be passed as it is\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kmYF1fcMchU?start=15&#038;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>330 views Aug 12, 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Animal Welfare Bill proposed by the Law Commission in 2006 (and verbatim reproduced in the Private Members Bill tabled by Ven. Athureliya Rathana Thera, in Parliament, in October 2010) has been hijacked by the Meat Trade and its collaborators and converted into an Animal Welfare Bill (2022) protecting not the innocent animals but the interests of the Poultry and Meat trade, and those who use live Animals in totally unnecessary experiments despite the availability of viable non-violent and harmless suitable alternatives.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Animal Welfare Bill (2006) introduced a robust legal framework and powers for protecting all animals. It was destined to become an International Gold Standard at least for countries in Asia. How we treat animals, and the legislation we must have to govern animal welfare, is a hallmark of a civilized society. Animals have always enjoyed a high priority status in our pre-colonial civilization running for over 2, 500 years. That has always been a source of pride for this nation and drew a lot of respect from the neighbouring countries in South Asia and Southeast Asia.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In ancient times the inhabitants of Sri Lanka i.e., the Buddhist Sinhalese, were called the \u2018Arya Vamsa\u2019 (people of noble character) because of our caring and compassionate attitudes towards non\u2013human living beings. This hallowed tradition should be continued. Today, we should be constantly looking to improve and refine our legislation in the area of animal welfare. It is a moral duty. The Animal Welfare Bill of Sri Lanka (2022) with its inhumane and draconian amendments enshrines &#8216;Cruelty&#8217; within a facade of a legal framework. It is a retrograde step. A slur on Sri Lanka&#8217;s image. It must not be enacted in Parliament.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mr. Senaka Weeraratna LLB (Ceylon), LLM (Monash), Barrister and Solicitor (Victoria), Attorney-at-Law, Former Honorary Legal Consultant to the Sri Lanka Law Commission on Animal Welfare Legislation (2000 &#8211; 2006)&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Drafted first draft of the Animal Welfare Bill for Members of the Law Commission and steered the drafting process until its finalization in 2006<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>See also<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Pro Animal Welfare Act for Sri Lanka &#8211;&nbsp;<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Senaka Weeraratna, Attorney-at-Law<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@justiceforanimalsandnature9467\">Justice for Animals and Nature<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>281 views Aug 19, 2023 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/results?search_query=Sri+Lanka&amp;sp=EiG4AQHCARtDaElKblI1YTlqeFo0am9Sak5QaUFMU2tQZUU%253D\">SRI LANKA<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We are a not-for-profit organization incorporated under the Company Laws of Sri Lanka as an Association (Registration No.GA236166).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In order to create a just society anchored to compassion for all living beings and nature we are carrying on this Youtube channel, with a view to drawing public attention to pain and suffering of animals largely due to the inhumanity of humans, and destruction of the natural habitat. Pl do Subscribe, watch our videos, Like them &amp; comment and share them as possible.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Aims and Objectives of the Organization (JAN) are as follows:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>1) To strive for Freedom and Justice for Animals, and creation of a Just Society,&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>2) To rebuild an animal &#8211; friendly cultural heritage in Sri Lanka, by fostering and caring for the well-being of animals,&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>3) To campaign for reform of the Constitution and updating of the laws to protect animals, nature and heritage, commensurate with modern standards of care and treatment, and engage in legal advocacy and public litigation,&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>4) To liaise and support other organizations within or outside Sri Lanka engaged in the promotion and protection of fauna, flora and nature,&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>5) To promote humanitarian education and awareness programs commencing at pre-school level, aimed at securing animal rights, protection and welfare,&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>6) To work towards ending cruelty to animals and the use of animals in entertainment, zoos, slavery, sports, races, experiments and religious activities including ritual sacrifices,&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>7) To promote plant\u2013based food production and consumption, and propagate the benefits of Vegetarianism and Veganism,&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>8) To call for a ban on the export of live animals from Sri Lanka for slaughter, entertainment and presentation as gifts to other countries, and export of meat products and seafood from Sri Lanka,&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>9) To encourage the public to not earn a living by rearing animals for slaughter or killing animals including invertebrates such as crustaceans, and to call for a ban on slaughter of cattle and other animals,&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>10) To create awareness on environmental pollution and environmental degradation, and their injurious effects on human health, climate change and bio\u2013diversity, and campaign against all such forms of pollution, including noise pollution,&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>11) To advocate preservation of remains of pre\u2013historic and historic cultures and heritage, archaeological areas, residual forests and natural habitats of non\u2013human living creatures, elephant corridors, and engagement in sustainable development, and&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>12) To promote \u2018Ahimsa\u2019 as a cardinal tenet pervading all activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;If you wish to join our organization as a member, volunteer or support us financially to carry out our mission please contact us as below:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Justice for Animals and Nature, 13A, Ocean Tower, Station Road, Colombo 4, Sri Lanka.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"mailto:justice4an@gmail.com\">justice4an@gmail.com<\/a>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>+94 112591500 \/ +94 766541716 \/ +94 714441810&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We welcome sincere &amp; dedicated people in any part of this world to join hands with us as members to realize these noble aims and transform ourselves into truly compassionate beings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Justice for Animals and Nature<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Justice for Animals and Nature 330 views Aug 12, 2023 The Animal Welfare Bill proposed by the Law Commission in 2006 (and verbatim reproduced in the Private Members Bill tabled by Ven. Athureliya Rathana Thera, in Parliament, in October 2010) has been hijacked by the Meat Trade and its collaborators and converted into an Animal [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[165],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-157726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-senaka-weeraratna"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157726","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=157726"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157726\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":157728,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157726\/revisions\/157728"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=157726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=157726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=157726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}