Section 22 - Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Regulation 2025 - Artificial lighting

22Artificial lighting

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22 Artificial lighting

(1) This section does not apply in relation to—

(a) a laying fowl in the period of 16 weeks immediately after the fowl is hatched, or

(b) a laying fowl on the day the fowl is removed from the place at which the fowl is being confined.

(2) A person must not confine laying fowl under artificial light unless the fowl are provided a total of at least 6 hours of darkness in each 24-hour period that includes at least 1continuous period of darkness of at least 4 hours.

Maximum penalty—

(a) for an individual—50 penalty units, or

(b) otherwise—200 penalty units.

(3) A person must not confine laying fowl to continuous darkness for any 24-hour period.

Maximum penalty—

(a) for an individual—50 penalty units, or

(b) otherwise—200 penalty units.

(4) A contravention of subsection (2) or (3) by a person does not constitute an offence if the contravention—

(a) is reasonably required to prevent the laying fowl from engaging in huddling or clumping behaviours during a period when laying fowl are at risk of heat stress from exposure to temperatures above the fowls’ thermoneutral zone, or

(b) occurs under the supervision of a veterinarian for the purposes of assessing, monitoring, treating or dealing with—

(i) the outbreak, or the risk of outbreak, of disease among the laying fowl, or

(ii) instances of cannibalism, or the risk of cannibalism, among the laying fowl.