Japan’s national budget is annual from April to March.

April 2020 to March 2021 will be fiscal 2020, and from April 2021 to March 2022 will be fiscal 2021.

The 2021 budget proposal is under deliberation in the House of Representatives, but in an expectation that the budget bill will pass the House, members of the House have begun to prepare the contents of the agenda at each committee.

Each member of the Environment Committee has also come up with policy issues, but what issues will be discussed regarding animal welfare policy?

According to materials compiled by the National Diet Library, there are 37 issues to be discussed.

The largest number of issues is related to livestock theft in the Northern Kanto aera last summer. Also, Animal hoarding and revision of Act on Welfare and Management of Animals will be discussed.

There is challenge to address the problem that more people are spending time at home because of the Covid-19 epidemic, and more people are starting to have dogs and cats, but they have welcomed pets without sufficient knowledge, resulting in more consultations about wanting to let go of their pets.

It also contains materials on a movement of bipartisan legislators submitted a request to Prime Minister in response to the International agreement to prohibit dog and cat meat for human consumption which is advocated by World Dog Alliance.

Many members are most interested in the “Manual of Standards (provisional)” currently being drawn up by the Ministry of the Environment. The manual clearly shows the breeding management standards in the revision of the Act on Welfare and Management of Animals to be enforced in June. Not only each member of congress with great interest, but also people who engaged in animal welfare activities.

It is a revision of the law aiming eradicate to unscrupulous animal-related business. However, there are concerns about the restrictions on the activities of animal rights organizations, and we hope that will not happen.

The global trend of banning dog and cat meat and animal welfare has reached the Japanese Diet. World Dog Alliance will work to solve the problem in cooperation with legislators.