By Landing Ceesay
The Members of Parliaments (MPs) in The Gambia are set to repeal the 1944 Animal Health Act.
The Attorney General and Minister of Justice Dawda A. Jallow, on Tuesday moved the Animal Health Bill 2020 motion for second reading on behalf of the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Demba Sabally.
The Bill is titled: “An Act to provide for the effective regulation of the veterinary domain in the Gambia to achieve food security through the protection of livestock health, and for connected matters”.
The Bill seeks to repeal the diseases of Animals Act 1944 and replace it with an Act that is more responsive to the needs of the Gambian people to enable the livestock sector to contribute significantly to the economy and prosperity of the people of the Gambia,according to the Minister.
The Bill that further seeks to enable the Veterinary Services to efficiently facilitate optimal animal health, animal welfare, public health, production, resilience and trade in the livestock sub-sector of the country, if enacted, would be cited as ‘the Animal Health Act, 2020’.
In 2020, when tabling the Bill before the MPs of the 5th Legislature, the then Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Amie Fabureh, said the Diseases of Animals Act, 1944 is outdated and does not address the current needs of the Gambia’s veterinary domain in meaningfully contributing to food security, food safety, income generation and wealth creation of the citizens.
The Bill has been taken to the Assembly Business Committee (ABC) after the parliamentarians raised some concerns for adjustments to be made to the document.
The Assembly Business Committee (ABC) would also refer it to the Select Committee on Agriculture for further scrutiny.