The Ministry of Justice ("MOJ") has recently issued the Administrative Regulations on Slaughtering of Live Pigs (Revised Draft for Comment) (the "Draft for Comment") to seek comments from the entities concerned and all walks of life by August 1, 2019.
Major revisions proposed by the Draft for Comment, comprised of 46 articles in five chapters, include: 1. improving the whole-process management system for all steps of live pig slaughtering; 2. improving the prevention and control of epidemic in all steps of live pig slaughtering; and 3. improving provisions concerning legal liability. Among others, the Draft for Comment calls for imposing tougher punishment against behaviors in breach of laws and regulations and proposes harsh punitive measures against activities of slaughtering live pigs at undesignated places, delivery of meat products of inferior quality out of slaughterhouses (abattoirs), and refusal to perform duties of reporting and recalling problematic products made from pigs. Meanwhile, the blacklist system is required to be established for the pig slaughtering industry, and measures are worked out to restrict or prohibit slaughterhouses (abattoirs) in violation of laws or regulations and their relevant personnel from entering such industry.