Current status of animal welfare regulation implementation in Latin America (Mexico, Colombia, Peru, and Brazil)
22-Oct-2026 (today)
In terms of animal welfare legislation, Latin America has made progress in enacting regulations tailored to each country's conditions. However, it is evident that implementation levels vary depending on the commitment and actions of the various stakeholders in the sector, primarily authorities and producers. The following is a breakdown by country of the key aspects regarding the status of implementation of their regulatory frameworks:
Mexico
Mexico has recently become the latest country in Latin America to make progress toward passing animal welfare legislation. On September 29, 2026, the Senate passed the General Law on Animal Welfare, Care, and Protection, which, among other provisions, prohibits the mistreatment and cruelty of animals and requires owners to ensure adequate nutrition, health, mental well-being, and dignified treatment. Although the legislation applies generally to all species, it represents a significant step forward for the country, where, in the medium term, the development and implementation of specific animal welfare regulations for pigs is planned. To this end, coordinated participation by producers, industry associations, and competent authorities is essential, as is drawing on the technical and regulatory expertise of countries with established regulatory frameworks for the swine sector. This process will allow for the incorporation of objective, technically validated indicators adapted to the conditions of national production systems, which will facilitate the effective implementation of animal welfare measures and contribute to the efficiency of swine production.
Although Mexico does not have specific animal welfare legislation for swine production—unlike other countries in the region—it does have the Official Mexican Standard NOM-033-SAG/ZOO-2014, which establishes the specifications and procedures applicable to methods for the slaughter of domestic and wild animals (SADER, 2015). In this regard, the country is aligned with the recommendations of the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), recognizing electrical stunning and carbon dioxide stunning as accepted methods, followed by neck cutting as a complementary procedure to ensure the animal’s death (SADER, 2015). Likewise, the general legal framework regarding animal health is governed by the Federal Animal Health Law (General Congress of the United Mexican States, 2007).
Colombia
Through Resolution 136 of 2020, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADR) established the regulatory framework for animal welfare conditions applicable to the various livestock species in the livestock sector, including pigs (Resolution 136 of 2020, 2020). In this context, Colombia has made significant progress compared to other Latin American countries and has achieved measurable results from the implementation of this regulation.
According to figures from the Colombian Agricultural Institute (ICA), since the start of inspection, monitoring, and enforcement activities to assess compliance with the resolution, 230 visits have been made to pig farms throughout the country. Of these, 177 received a rating of “high” or “excellent,” categories recognized by the regulations as evidence of satisfactory compliance (ICA, 2026).
Although challenges remain in achieving comprehensive implementation across the entire sector, Colombia stands out for making simultaneous progress in legislative development and in the creation of technical tools for field verification. These include checklists—designed based on criteria of validity, reliability, and repeatability of the indicators being evaluated—which provide producers with an objective framework for identifying their level of compliance and establishing improvement measures.
The work carried out by Colombia is particularly important, not only because of the adoption of regulations governing primary production and the transport of animals, but also because of the coordinated efforts between the health authority, industry associations, and producers. This collaboration has enabled the review and updating of checklists, the identification of opportunities for improvement, and the establishment of technical working groups. As a result, an approach to continuous improvement has been strengthened, benefiting both the animals and the sustainability of the production sector.
Peru
Law No. 30407 of 2016 establishes general provisions regarding basic welfare conditions for animals in various contexts (companion animals, wild animals in captivity, farm animals, and aquatic vertebrates; Congress of the Republic of Peru, 2016). However, the country does not have legislation specifically for farm animals. Within the regulatory framework, the Ministry of Agricultural Development and Irrigation, the Ministry of the Environment, and the Ministry of Production are the agencies responsible for approving and regulating the specific framework for productive species, including pigs (Congress of the Republic of Peru, 2016).
Among the key aspects of Peru’s Animal Protection and Welfare Law regarding farm animals are the following (Congress of the Republic of Peru, 2016):
- The recognition of all vertebrate animals as sentient beings.
- The incorporation of animal welfare into the processes of rearing, transport, slaughter, and population and individual management based on best practices.
- The requirement that slaughter result in instantaneous death or the immediate loss of consciousness.
- A ban on the slaughter of farm animals on public roads, in markets, and at fairgrounds, as well as on their rearing and transport under unsanitary conditions.
Brazil
Along with Colombia, Brazil is one of the Latin American countries with specific legislation governing swine production. Normative Instruction No. 113 of December 16, 2020, approved by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Supply (MAPA), establishes best practices for animal welfare and management on commercial swine farms (MAPA, 2020). However, unlike Colombia, Brazil has yet to implement this regulation through checklists or other formal verification tools that would allow for the objective assessment of compliance and standardize its application across production systems.
The document provides for the evaluation of indicators based on the animals, facilities, and management practices (MAPA, 2020). One aspect that sets it apart from other countries in the region is the establishment of specific deadlines for meeting indicators agreed upon by experts, authorities, and the industry (MAPA, 2020). Notable among these are the ban on individual housing of breeding females on new farms and the establishment of a deadline of 2045 for existing farms to replace crates with group-housing systems (MAPA, 2020).
Table 1. Animal welfare regulations in other Latin American countries.
| Country | Regulation | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Chile | Law No. 20380 of 2009: on animal protection | General regulation |
| Argentina | Resolution No. 1697 of 2019: Minimum requirements for animal welfare | Livestock raised for slaughter, working animals used in agriculture and livestock farming, and horses used for sports |
| Uruguay | Law No. 18471 of 2009: Law on the protection, welfare, and ownership of animals | General regulation |
| Costa Rica | Law No. 7451 of 1994: Animal welfare law | General regulation |
| Paraguay | Law No. 7513 of 2025: Animal welfare and protection | General regulation |
The regulatory landscape for animal welfare in Latin America reveals a clear gap in specialization: while most countries (such as Chile, Uruguay, Costa Rica, and Paraguay (Table 1), along with Peru and Mexico) operate under general regulatory frameworks, only Colombia and Brazil have moved toward specific regulations for the swine industry.