Wooroloo Prison Farm—Animal cruelty
494. Hon Amanda Dorn to the minister representing the Minister for Corrective Services:
I refer the minister to the reported incident at Wooroloo Prison Farm, where prisoners participating in a rehabilitation program and entrusted with the care of guinea pigs from an animal shelter—where they should have been safe—allegedly killed and ate them.
(1) Will the minister condemn this act of animal cruelty?
(2) What immediate actions has the minister taken in response to the incident?
(3) What safeguards and supervision measures will the minister implement to ensure the welfare of animals in all prisoner rehabilitation programs?
Hon Matthew Swinbourn replied:
I thank the honourable member for some notice of the question. I represent the Minister for Corrective Services. I am not the Minister for Corrective Services.
(1)–(2) All section 95 activities from Wooroloo Prison Farm have been suspended while an investigation is conducted.
(3) The Department of Justice is undertaking a full review of approved external activities and any adjustments to existing safeguards and supervision measures will be determined following the outcome of the review.
