Animal Welfare Act

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), Royal New Zealand Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and New Zealand Police all have enforcement powers under the Animal Welfare Act. The Act is primarily enforced by MPI and SPCA, and both organisations have a team of animal welfare inspectors.  

• MPI receives and acts upon complaints relating to farmed animals 

• SPCA receives and acts upon complaints relating to companion animals 

Enforcement options available to both MPI and SPCA include:  

• Education  

• Warnings  

• Enforcement orders  

• Infringement notices  

• Prosecution 

Sentience means animals have emotions, feelings, perceptions, and experiences that matter to them. These can be negative (such as pain or boredom) as well as positive (such as pleasure or comfort). 

The five freedoms of animal welfare are:  

1. Freedom from hunger and thirst;
   Animals should have sufficient food and water.
2. Freedom from being uncomfortable;
   Animals should have a place to live and adequate shelter
3. Freedom to behave naturally;
   Animals should have the opportunity to display normal patterns of behaviour.
4. Freedom from fear and distress;
   Animals should not be hurt or upset when they are being handled.
5. Freedom from pain, injury, and disease;
   Animals should be free from pain, injury, and disease. They should also be protected from any further harm and given a quick diagnosis if they do become injured or sick. 

The Animal Welfare Act itself does not provide detailed requirements, instead these are outlined in supporting codes and regulations:  

Codes of welfare

Developed by the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC), codes of welfare establish minimum standards and recommended best practice. They provide guidance on how to comply with the Act, and failure to meet a minimum standard within a code of welfare can be used as evidence to support a prosecution under the Act

You can find out more about codes of welfare here. 

Regulations

The Animal Welfare (Care and Procedures) Regulations 2018 are developed by MPI and allow for enforcement of low to medium animal welfare offending. They also clarify who can carry out certain surgical procedures on animals and how they should be undertaken. Most regulations have an associated penalty. 

You can find out more about regulations here. 

• Two committees were created to provide guidance to Government on animal welfare; the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC) and the National Animal Ethics Advisory Committee (NAEAC). However, both committees are purely advisory, and parliamentary ministers are not obliged to accept or implement the advice these committees provide. 

• NAWAC develops codes of welfare intended to provide detailed minimum standards and best practice recommendations for different species and activities involving animals. However, loopholes and ambiguities often allow for these codes to directly contradict the principles and intention of the Animal Welfare Act. 

• Neither MPI nor the SPCA are adequately resourced to monitor animal welfare across the country, resulting in overly selective enforcement. For example, MPI has around 30 animal welfare inspectors  who have the mammoth task of overseeing the welfare of more than 160 million farmed animals.   

• Prosecutions of animal welfare offences are rare, and these rates are significantly lower than in other areas of the criminal law. Due to the resource constraints impeding both MPI and SPCA, only the most grievous breaches of the Animal Welfare Act ever lead to legal proceedings.

• Very little Government funding is directed toward animal welfare. Enforcement therefore frequently relies on public monitoring and the work of charities to hold people accountable for animal cruelty. 

• Animal welfare sits within the Minster of Agriculture’s portfolio. The key role of this Minister is to “support the New Zealand food and fibre sector to be productive and prosperous” with responsibilities including “advancing New Zealand’s agriculture and export opportunities.” (Source; MPI)  

• The current Associate Minister for Agriculture responsible for animal welfare is a past president of Federated Farmers and board member of the International Dairy Federation, with no relevant experience in the field of animal welfare.   

• The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) “operates across the whole supply chain of primary production” yet is also responsible for administering the Animal Welfare Act. This glaring conflict of interest results in animal welfare policy frequently being driven by industry stakeholders profiting from the use of animals. (Source; MPI)

• Animal entertainment industries (for example horse and greyhound racing) are largely able to self-regulate with little external oversight of animal welfare. Neither MPI nor the SPCA have the jurisdiction to uphold the Animal Welfare Act for animals associated with racing to ensure they are safeguarded from abuse. 

• The two committees established to provide advice to Ministers on animal welfare are not genuinely independent; the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC) and the National Animal Ethics Advisory Committee (NAEAC). Rather than being formed of animal welfare experts – for example specialists in animal care, behaviour, ethics, policy, and law – the committees are heavily populated with farmers, and people involved in ‘animal use’ industries. 

• NAWAC is not held accountable for its work programme or the development of codes of welfare, resulting in lengthy delays for codes being progressed and approved leaving countless animals vulnerable to exploitation and neglect.  

If you suspect the Animal Welfare Act or a minimum standard of care in any of the Act’s supporting codes of welfare is being breached, you can report this in the following ways: 

• For issues relating to farmed animals, report the issue to MPI by calling 0800 00 88 33 or completing this online form. 

• For issues relating to companion animals, contact your local SPCA centre