Law 29,228 of 2010 on the Protection of Free and Captive Domestic Fauna is the main piece of animal welfare legislation in Venezuela. It provides a definition of animal welfare and lists various acts which constitute animal cruelty. This law prohibits causing deliberate cruelty to animals, as well as a failure to act in case of animal cruelty. Moreover, it creates a duty of care onto animal owners. This law furthermore bans dog fighting. With regards to wild animals, Law 29,289 of 1970 on the Protection of Wildlife forbids some of the cruellest forms of hunting, such as using poison or explosives.

However, there is room for improvement in many domains related to animal welfare. Notably, Law 39,338 is only applicable to domesticated animals, and it is unclear whether this law applies to captive wild animals. Fur farming is still allowed in Venezuela. Furthermore, the culling of stray animals is authorised in legislation. Overall, there is a lack of species-specific regulations for farm animals, draught animals and animals used in scientific research.

Law 39,338 grants responsibility for animal welfare to municipal authorities. Each municipal authority is entrusted to create a centre for the rescue and recovery of domesticated animals. Law 29,289 on the Protection of Wildlife gives responsibility to the Ministry of People Power for the Environment to implement this specific legislation. Overall responsibility for animal welfare does not seem to have been allocated to one specific Ministry.

The Government of Venezuela is urged to enact a comprehensive animal welfare legislative act that would enshrine animal sentience, and would forbid animal cruelty towards all animals, including wild animals. Further animal welfare provisions will stem from this recognition of animal sentience. In particular, the Government of Venezuela is urged to ban the worst forms of confinement for animals reared in farming, and to mandate humane slaughter for all animal species. In addition, the Government of Venezuela is strongly encouraged to fully ban fur farming, which is inherently cruel and causes pain, distress and suffering to animals. The Government of Venezuela is urged to outlaw the culling of stray animal populations, and to implement spay-and-neuter campaigns as a tool to control stray animal populations. The Government of Venezuela is also strongly encouraged to ban the use of all animals for entertainment, in circuses for instance. Overall, the Government of Venezuela is strongly encouraged to align its current legislation with OIE standards. Responsibility for animal welfare should be allocated to a Ministry, and a specific government body shall enact and assess the implementation of animal protection legislation. Such a government body should include representatives from animal welfare organisations. Further legal and policy recommendations are associated with each Animal Protection Index (API) indicator and contained in the relevant sections of this report.