The Chamber of Deputies has approved a draft law governing animal husbandry and fisheries, paving the way for a new legal framework aimed at professionalising the sector, strengthening food security and aligning Rwanda's livestock and fisheries industries with international standards. The bill was unanimously passed on Tuesday, July 28, by all 74 lawmakers present and now awaits presidential assent before it is gazetted and becomes law. ALSO READ: Parliament to scrutinise new bill on animal health Its approval comes less than a week after the lower chamber passed a separate draft law governing agriculture. Presenting the report of the parliamentary Committee on Land, Agriculture, Livestock and Environment, chairperson Alice Muzana said the new legislation consolidates four existing laws into a single legal framework. These include the 2008 law governing the prevention and control of contagious diseases in domestic animals, the 2008 law on aquaculture and fisheries, the 2002 law on domestic animal identification, and the 2013 law governing beekeeping. ALSO READ: What to know about new bill on animal welfare, fisheries According to Muzana, the existing laws had several shortcomings, including inadequate provisions governing animal transportation, insufficient regulation of professional livestock and fisheries operations, limited measures for preserving indigenous animal breeds, and gaps relating to animal feed management. She said the new bill also aligns Rwanda's legal framework with international standards, particularly the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) Terrestrial Animal Health Code, which is expected to strengthen the country's competitiveness in international markets for animal products. ALSO READ: How Rwanda’s farming practices are evolving to meet modern demands The law reflects international recommendations and will help increase Rwanda's capacity to export animal products, she told lawmakers. The committee said it expanded the bill from 41 articles in six chapters to 68 articles across eight chapters following its scrutiny. During the review, four articles were retained unchanged, five received grammatical corrections, while 27 were substantially revised. Nine articles were removed and 36 new provisions introduced. Among the newly introduced provisions are the One Health principle, which promotes the interconnected health of humans, animals and the environment, and provisions encouraging the use of modern knowledge and technology in livestock farming and fisheries. The committee also recommended changing the title of the bill from the draft law governing animal husbandry, animal health and fisheries to the draft law governing animal husbandry and fisheries, noting that animal health is already an integral component of livestock management. Speaking after the bill's approval, Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources Telesphore Ndabamenye described the legislation as a major step towards addressing challenges facing the livestock and fisheries sectors. He said the law establishes a clearer regulatory framework for operations across the value chain, strengthens collaboration among stakeholders and promotes professional production, inspections and monitoring. We wanted regulations that govern operations and collaboration so that food security from animal husbandry and fisheries can be accelerated through professional production, monitoring and inspections while aligning with international standards, Ndabamenye said. He noted that the legislation would also improve accountability among players in the sector, while many operational details will later be specified through ministerial orders. The minister added that strengthening the legal framework is expected to support the growth of sectors such as fisheries, which he said has significant potential to contribute more to Rwanda's economy if properly regulated and developed.
