Law And Legislation

This section covers laws and regulatioms specific to animal welfare or animal collections. These are set together with the professional working standards set by carers of animals.

Laws are just guidelines and are forever changing, therefore it is the responsibility of all animal carers to:

• Maintain a practical working knowledge of the law relating to animals
• Always work within that law

Legislation in the UK is both Acts of Parliament and regulations.

• Laws (statutes) - created by Parliament. They are presented as a form of bill, a draft legislation, it is debated in the House of Commons and the House of Lords initially. The bill (draft) is then passed on to specifically chosen Parliamentary committee members before receiving the Queen's signature to become law. It is then placed in the Statute book as an Act of Parliament.
• Regulations (orders) - these describe the technical implications of laws. The relevant government minister adds regulations to the legislation. This information is added to the existing law and must have the approval of Parliament.