In 1973 the Japanese hastily put together a law called the Animal Protection and Control Law in time for the visit to Japan of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II. They wanted to show the world they cared about the welfare of Japanese animals. This law however, dubbed the ' sieve law' was primarily designed to protect people from animals, not the other way around. It was totally ineffective, unknown (to authorities like the police) and therefore unenforceable. It had no definition of cruelty and the handful of truly terrible cases that have been prosecuted in nearly 30 years have been let off with a paltry 30,000 yen ( 250 US $) fine, less than one would get for stealing a bicycle.
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