The Animal Health Act defines the term ‘animal’ as any aquatic or terrestrial animal. This term is also defined by the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act as any specimen, whether living or dead, of any species of wild fauna, excluding any domestic animal. It thus differs from the definition provided by the Animal Health Act since the latter includes domestic and wild animals.

Under the Animal Health Act, the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA) must develop and maintain an animal identification, traceability and movement system. The Minister of Agriculture may, following advice from the GLDA, set regulations on the establishment and functioning of such system.

The Wildlife Conservation and Management Act requires commercial import and export licence holders to keep wildlife in holding premises and to maintain a Wildlife Register for specimens from species listed in the First, Second and Third Schedules that are imported, exported, or introduced from the sea, in line with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).The Wildlife Holding Premises Regulations also require all holding premises licence holders to record animal births and deaths, and to submit every year to the Guyana Wildlife Conservation and Management Commission (GWCMC) an inventory of the animals housed in the holding premises. However, the legal framework does not explicitly provide for the GWCMC to establish a database for identification and traceability.

According to the Guyana Livestock Development Authority Act, the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA) is responsible for maintaining a register of livestock farmers, processors, traders and exporters. The Act requires licences for persons engaging in trade, export or processing of livestock.

Moreover, the Animal Welfare Act requires persons that keep animals for production purposes to be registered with the GLDA. This requirement appears to apply to both domestic animals and farmed wild animals but regardless of the number of animals kept by the owner.

Environmental authorizations are also required for breeding of domestic animals. According to the guidelines published by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), an authorization is required for large-scale swine rearing operations (over 70 total head of swine) and for medium- and large-scale poultry rearing operations (over 500 poultry).

For wildlife, the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act establishes that all operations involving activities related to captive breeding or ranching of live animals require a licence. This obligation applies for all captive breeding and ranching facilities, irrespective of size. The Guyana Wildlife Conservation and Management Commission (GWCMC) shall keep a record of the names, addresses and other particulars of all licensed Captive Breeding Operations and Wildlife Ranching Facilities.

The New Amsterdam Markets By-laws regulating the New Amsterdam Market requires that market stalls must be registered.

Under the Animal Health Act, the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA) must develop and maintain an animal identification, traceability and movement system. The Guyana Livestock Development Authority Act also mandates the GLDA to maintain a livestock breed register.

According to the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act, animals from the CITES Appendix III to be exported, must originate from a breeding operation registered by the Guyana Wildlife Conservation and Management Commission (GWCMC) and must be permanently marked. The GWCMC may also cause any specimen that is being imported or exported to be marked with such mark or other suitable means so as to prevent imitation. The Wildlife Holding Premises Regulations provides for the registration by commercial import and export licence holders of all the specimens acquired, sold, disposed of, or that died. Among the records to be kept, the regulations include, identification, origin, distinctive marks, clinical data, life history data.

The Wildlife Conservation and Management Act and the Wildlife Holding Premises Regulations provide for the registration of wild animal movements. According to the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act, every licence holder (i.e. licences for export, re-export, import and introduction from the sea according to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES) shall keep for inspection books, documents and records in a wildlife register. Similarly, the Wildlife Holding Premises Regulations establish that every holding premises shall keep a record of the births, acquisitions, sales, disposals and deaths of all animals. The records registered on animals in holding premises shall be submitted to the Guyana Wildlife Conservation and Management Commission (GWCMC) every year.

The Animal Health Act establishes the development and implementation of an animal identification and traceability system as a function of the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA). The Animal Welfare Act requires the owner of animals kept for production purposes to maintain a record of the number that died and to make the records available to the GLDA. However, there are no further regulations on the matter and no database to register the animal movements. Furthermore, it is not clear how the coordination between the GWCMC and the GLDA is to be executed for animal movements.

The Animal Health Act appoints officers to implement its provisions. Authorized officers may, without a warrant, enter establishments, request information and documents, make copies of documents, take samples, inspect operations and processes, and seize items.

Animal feed is defined in the Animal Health Act as a mixture of nutrients that are produced under hygienic conditions that comply with the requirements of each species, age and type of production, either as the only source of feed, or as a supplement. The Act establishes that the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA) is responsible for the regulation and control of animal feed exports and imports. The Act also provides regulations related to the distribution, import and export of commodities, which include animal feed.

The Food and Drugs Regulations regulate drugs administered to animals. According to the Regulations, it is mandatory to place a warning on the label of animal drugs administered to animals consumed as food. With regard to food safety, there is a list of items that are authorized, restricted or prohibited for use in food, but no specific list is provided for feed.

The Fishery Products Regulations provide for a monitoring system to check the level of contamination of fishery products. They also establish which fishery products shall not contain contaminants in their edible parts.

The Animal Health Act provides for the Minister to make regulations, on the advice of the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA), related to the registration, importation, manufacture, distribution and sale of animal feed. However, such regulations have not yet been adopted for animal feed manufacture.

Moreover, there are no clear regulations or obligations on the disposal of feed or medicated feed in the legal framework. Nonetheless, some guidance can be found in different guidelines provided by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in particular, in the Environmental Guidelines for Swine Rearing Operations, and in the Environmental Guidelines for Poultry Rearing Operations.

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The Animal Health Act includes feed in the definition of commodities and requires importers of commodities to hold a permit. The Act also establishes that importers of aquatic commodities (including animal feed) shall be registered. The Animal Health Fees Regulations set the cost for obtaining a permit to import feed.

According to the Animal Health Act, any shipment of commodities (including animal feed) must be subject to inspection. The same Act grants inspectors the power to destroy commodities if there is a suspicion that the shipment would result in the introduction in Guyana of a pathogen or disease, or if the documentation does not comply with the requirements. The cost of destruction is borne by the importer.

An international veterinary health certificate is required to export aquatic animal products or commodities (including animal feed). The Animal Health Fees Regulations establish the cost for obtaining an international health certificate. Inspections, biological tests and observations may be carried out before the export of commodities.

The Animal Health Act provides for a general designation of officers for animal health, but not specifically for feed safety. The Animal Health Act empowers authorized officers to enter establishments, request information and documents, make copies of documents, take samples, inspect operations and processes, and seize items. Sanctions regarding commodities (including animal feed) and safety consist of fines.

The Animal Welfare Act prohibits the infliction of unnecessary pain to animals. It also prohibits the abandonment of animals, the unprepared release of animals into the wild, and the infliction of pain during their training.

The Wildlife Conservation and Management Act establishes the promotion of and provision for the rescue, rehabilitation and return of wildlife into the wild as a function of the Guyana Wildlife Conservation and Management Commission (GWCMC). The GWCMC is also entitled to establish facilities for rescued, injured, seized, confiscated and rehabilitated wildlife.

The Wildlife Holding Premises and the Wildlife Zoo Regulations have many provisions ensuring the welfare of animals under captivity. They establish requirements for: clean food and water; proper conditions of premises including ventilation characteristics; sizes and conditions of cages; proper hygienic conditions; dietary requirements; inspection of animals by veterinarians, etc.

The Criminal Offences Act establishes offences related to the unlawful and malicious killing or wounding of animals. The sanction for this offence is imprisonment. The Animal Welfare Act also establish sanctions (fines and imprisonment) in case of violation of its provisions.

The Animal Welfare Act establishes several obligations in case a person keeps animals for production purposes so that their biological needs are met. This applies to both domestic animals and farmed wild animals. The Act requires the persons who keeps animals to have training or experience in caring for such animals. The owner must provide access to sufficient quantities of drinking water of suitable quality and ensure that the type, quality and quantity of feed provided is appropriate. When an animal shows signs of illness or is injured, the owner must ensure that it receives care and, if necessary, veterinary assistance. There are also specific requirements for the construction and equipment of the premises where animals are kept, and for the regular inspection of animals and premises.

The Wildlife Holding Premises Regulations establish many obligations for animal keepers and owners to ensure the welfare of animals under captivity. The regulations establish the following: requirements for clean food and water; proper conditions of premises including ventilation characteristics; seizes and conditions of cages; proper hygienic conditions; dietary requirements; and inspection of animals by veterinarians, etc. There are also requirements for regular controls to avoid risks of diseases, and for separate facilities for prays and predators. Wildlife holding premises must be managed by a person with adequate training, knowledge and experience on the behaviour, biology, food and health requirements of every species held or intended to be held at the premises. They must also be staffed with adequately trained personnel and may have arrangements with veterinarians to look after the animals.

The Animal Welfare Act generally prohibits the transportation of animals causing pain, suffering, injury or death. It requires a permission from the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA) for the transport of animals as well as a certificate of approval of the means of transport.

The Wildlife Conservation and Management Act establishes as an offence the failure to comply with the IATA Regulations for imports, exports and re-exports of live animals. Moreover, the CITES permits are subject to the compliance with adequate transportation arrangements to minimize the risk of injury or damage of wildlife. A captive wildlife licence authorizes the transportation of animals.

The Wildlife Zoo Regulations set the requirements for the transportation of animals, including conditions on the facilities to be used for this purpose: the facilities must be designed properly and secured for the transportation of animals; they must be free of structures that might pose a risk of injury; and they must be suitably ventilated and equipped with secure flooring and an adequate supply of food and drinks.

The Animal Health Act and the Animal Welfare Act define the term ‘slaughter’ as any procedure that intentionally causes the death of an animal by bleeding. The Animal Welfare Act provides that animals shall be stunned before slaughtering, with exception of religious rites or emergency. ‘Stunning’ is thus defined as an obligatory procedure to be carried out prior to slaughter or human killing whereby an animal is put into a state of reduced consciousness. The Animal Welfare Act also establishes as a prohibition the use of stunning equipment or methods that cause or are likely to cause pain, suffering or fear to animals. The ‘slaughter according to religious rite’ is defined under the same Act as the slaughter of animals without stunning, carried out by a person authorized by a religious community.

The Georgetown (Abattoir) By-laws establish that, except with the express permission of an inspector, no person shall slaughter any animal in the abattoir unless such animal has been effectually stunned with a mechanically operated instrument. It also provides for exceptions for religious reasons.

The Fishery Products Regulations prescribe the minimum standards for the design and construction of facilities used for aquaculture. The construction, installation, operation, modification and extension of any facility related to agriculture, which includes aquaculture, may be subject to environmental authorization issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) according to the Environmental Protection Act.  

The construction, installation, operation, modification and extension of any facility related to agriculture, which includes aquaculture, that discharge effluents may be subject to environmental authorization issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) according to the Environmental Protection Act. This is notably required for facilities that generates, transports, treats, stores, or disposes of hazardous wastes, including chemical waste.

The Fishery Products Regulations do not establish specific restrictions on the use of certain chemicals in aquaculture activities; they only restrict some substances in aquaculture fishery products and require them to comply with quality criteria.   

The Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA) controls the production, processing and trade in livestock and livestock products. The GLDA is responsible for drafting and implementing schemes for livestock development; registering livestock farmers, processors and traders; establishing standards for the grading of livestock or livestock products; and providing services and products to livestock farmers.  

The Guyana Wildlife Conservation and Management Commission (GWCMC) regulates animal breeding operations, which include the production of wild animals.

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