COMPLETION REPORT

Safety and welfare of animals captivated in zoos and wildlife parks: A comparative study of Malaysianand Japanese laws
Dr. Kamal Halili Hassan
Professor
Faculty of Law
Universiti Kebangsan Malaysia,
This study compares the operations of zoo regulations in Malaysia and Japan with special emphasis on animalwelfare. Zoos are a major tourist attraction and house various wildlife species either for display purposes or foranimal performances. The main concern is the welfare of the animals in terms of their enclosures, diet, health, etc.
The legislations of the two countries are examined to compare their similarities and differences. The
methodological approach of this paper is purely legal and is limited only to provisions in the relevant statutes. This
study concludes that Malaysia has more comprehensive regulations on zoo operations compared to Japan. It will
be interesting to observe whether legislation on wildlife and in particular animal welfare in zoos is similar orotherwise. Whether a developed country possesses superior legislation on wildlife compared to its developing
counterpart? The relevant legislation on zoo operations and animal welfare in Malaysia is the Wildlife
Conservation Act 2010 (Act 716). However, it relates more to protection of wildlife in general as only a few of its
provisions refer to zoo operations (Kamal, 2014). The Act empowers the Minister to make regulations which
resulted in the enactment of the Wildlife Conservation (Operation of Zoo) Regulations 2012. To begin, Act 716
will be reviewed in terms of the relevant provisions on zoo operations. Under that Act “wildlife” means “anyspecies of wild animal or wild bird, whether totally protected or protected, vertebrate or invertebrate, live or dead,mature or immature and whether or not may be tamed or bred in captivity”. This broad definition includes wildlife
in captivity and therefore it certainly includes animals kept in zoos. In the case of Japan, there are several
legislations concerning zoo operations and animal welfare (Shoji, 2007). A legal framework for animal welfare
can be found in Law No.105 of 1973, the main purpose of which is to prevent cruelty to animals and ensure thesuitable treatment and protection of animals. A statute entitled “Standards relating to the Keeping and Custody ofAnimals for Exhibition etc 1973” has been enacted for zoo operations. Other relevant legislations are the Wildlife
Protection and Hunting Law, the Law for the Conservation of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, theNature Conservation Law, and the Natural Parks Law (Takahari, 2009). Zoos in Japan are more self-regulated.
Malaysia has special regulations on zoo operators, namely the Wildlife Conservation (Operation of Zoo)
Regulations 2012 which has detailed provisions aimed at protecting animal welfare. In addition, many aspects ofanimal welfare are provided for such as enclosures, diet upkeep, health, etc. Being a regulation, the Wildlife
Conservation (Operation of Zoo) Regulations 2012 has legal standing and any violation can be subject to legal
action including prosecution. The Japanese counterpart lacks regulations on zoo operations and consequently
animal welfare is less protected. Zoos in Japan operate on the principle of self-regulation and individual prefectures
have the liberty to make their own regulations on them.

Publication of the Results of Research Project:
Verbal Presentation (Date, Venue, Name of Conference, Title of Presentation, Presenter, etc.)
1. International Conference on Interdisciplinary Legal Studies, Colombo, Sri Lanka 25-27 February 2015: Title ofPaper – (1) ”Operations of zoos: A comparative note of Japanese and Malaysian legislation (U/V24); (2) Title ofAbstract: - Natural parks’ development and wildlife conservation: A comparative study between Malaysian andJapanese laws (U/V25)
2.

International Conference on Natural Resources, Tourism and Services Management, Sabah Malaysia, 14-16
April 2015: Title of Paper -“Tourism and wildlife legislation: Protecting animal welfare in zoos and nationalparks” Proceedings of the International Conference on Natural Resources, Tourism and Services
Management, 2015, 177-182 (published on-line).

Thesis (Name of Journal and its Date, Title and Author of Thesis, etc.)
Published:
1. Kamal Halili Hassan, 2015. Application of the Wildlife Conservation 2010 (Act 716): The Malaysianexperience”, American Journal of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, 10(1): 43-46.

2. Kamal Halili Hassan & Adam Abdel Hameed. 2015. Wildlife protection: An assessment of Japan’s legal system
in meeting the global standard”, The Social Sciences. 11(2): 59-66

Accepted for publication:
3. Kamal Halili Hassan & Adam Abdel Hameed, 2014. Animal welfare in the Malaysian law: adherence to theInternational Standards and Islamic Teachings”, Research Journal of Applied Sciences.

Submitted for publication (under review):
4.

Kamal Halili Hassan. 2015. Measuring visitors’ observation and perception on animal welfare in national zoo.
Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences.

Book (Publisher and Date of the Book, Title and Author of the Book, etc.)