Sri Lanka's amended Animals Act has been formally enacted following certification by Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne, expanding legal protections to include goats, pigs, sheep and poultry.
The Animals (Amendment) Act, No. 19 of 2026 has officially entered into law following the Speaker's certification on Wednesday. The amendment to Sri Lanka's original Animals Act, No. 29 of 1958, was initially presented to Parliament by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation on July 21 and subsequently passed by Parliament on August 6.
The primary focus of the amendment involves widening the legal interpretation of "animal" as defined in Section 38 of the principal Act. Under the revised provisions, goats, pigs and sheep will now be incorporated into the scope of Part II of the existing legislation. Additionally, the amendment clarifies and updates relevant definitions contained in Part IV to explicitly encompass sheep, goats, pigs and poultry.
According to legislative sources, the amendment aims to enhance clarity and consistency in how legal provisions governing animals are applied across the existing framework. The change represents an effort to modernize protections and regulatory oversight for these categories of livestock.
In related legislative action, the Speaker also certified the National Water Supply and Drainage Board (Amendment) Bill on the same date, which became the National Water Supply and Drainage Board (Amendment) Act, No. 20 of 2026. This concurrent amendment modernizes the legal structure governing water supply and wastewater management operations under the Board's purview.
