Tail docking in dogs
The Israeli "Cruelty to Animals (Animal Protection) Law" has recently been amended by the addition of a ban on the performance of surgical procedures in animal tissue "for cosmetic purposes". The ban includes the docking of tails or cutting of ears in dogs.

The amendment was published in the government of Israel's "Book of Laws" no 1761 on 14 December 2000.

Geese force-feeding
Under the "Cruelty to Animals (Animal Protection) Law", the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has recently published new regulations pertaining to the practice of geese force-feeding. For the full text, please refer to "Legislation".

The Regulations have been published in the government of Israel's "Kovetz Hattakanot" on 12 February 2001, and came into force 30 days later - namely on 12 March 2001. It will be in effect for 3 years following publication.

Notifiable diseases of humans
The Ministry of Health has recently added Botulism and Anthrax to the list of Diseases in humans, which should be notified immediately to the Public Health Services "since they are of international importance". Two other diseases - Rift Valley Fever and West Nile Fever have been added to the list of diseases requiring "individual reporting".

All the said four diseases are common to animal and humans, and are thus also notifiable under the provisions of the "Animal Diseases Ordinance", which is managed by the State Veterinary Services in the Ministry of Agricultur and Rural Developments.