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Animal welfare in New Zealand is governed by the Animal Welfare Act 1999 and a number of organisations actively advocate for both animal welfare and animal rights. Pest control and farming practices have been scrutinised with respect to animal welfare issues. The legality of killing dogs and cats for consumption has also been criticized.
The New Zealand economy relies heavily on agriculture and many animal welfare issues involve the farming sector.
Despite claims that New Zealand has high animal welfare standards, a 2016 report from the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee, reviewing the use of farrowing crates on pig farms, found that the pork industry does not accept its requirements under the Pigs Codes of Welfare (2010), and that failure by industry to act in accordance with the Pigs Codes of Welfare (2010) is commonplace. [1] Additionally, the Pigs Codes of Welfare (2010) contradicts animals rights to express normal patterns of behavior as outlined in the Animal Welfare Act 1999. [2] [3] [4]
There were animal welfare concerns on the controversial CraFarms and in June 2011 five people involved with Crafers Taharua Dairy Farm pleaded not guilty to 714 charges of alleged animal welfare offences. [5]
In 2013 a farmer was convicted of animal welfare offences after breaking or injuring the tails of 230 cows and he was banned from owning cows. The case was the worst of its type that had been seen by the authorities. [6]
A resource consent application under the Resource Management Act 1991 for the intensive farming of cattle in the Mackenzie Basin in 2009 attracted opposition because of concerns over animal welfare, even though animal welfare is not a part of the RMA. The application was "called in" under provisions of the RMA.
The usage of 1080 in New Zealand (a pest control and animal health measure) attracts some opposition on animal welfare grounds but a 2007 assessment of 1080 (sodium fluoroacetate) concluded that the benefits outweighed the risks. [7]
In 2010 Landcare Research New Zealand Limited prepared a paper for MAF Biosecurity New Zealand called "How humane are our pest control tools?". [8] Various vertebrate toxic agents such as 1080, Brodifacoum, Cholecalciferol and so on, kill traps in mammal species, in-burrow rabbit control methods and leg hold traps, rotenone, alphachloralose and DRC-1339 looked at the ‘animal welfare impact’ (humaneness) of these control tools. The paper describes in detail how various toxins affect different animals. Information on level of consciousness at various times/events after dosing are still needed to fully assess its negative experiences and humaneness.
Animal research is regulated by the Animal Welfare Act 1999 and organisations using animals must follow an approved code of ethical conduct. [9] This sets out the policies and procedures that need to be adopted and followed by the organisation and its animal ethics committee (AEC). [10] Every project must be approved and monitored by an AEC which includes lay members.
In 2009, a Tongan man living in New Zealand cooked his dog in his back yard, which prompted calls to ban the practice, but this did not happen. [11]
On 14 April 2021, the Government of New Zealand announced that, in order to raise animal welfare standards, it had decided to phase out the export of livestock by sea by 2023 after a transition period of up to two years. It was the first country in history to do so; activists called on Australia and other states to follow suit. [12] [13]
New Zealand has a number of rare and endangered species and there have been cases of wildlife smuggling.
The Wildlife Enforcement Group, a group of three government departments, collectively investigate smuggling to and from New Zealand. The three agencies are the New Zealand Customs Service, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and the Department of Conservation. [14]
New Zealand is a signatory to CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) which was set up to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. CITES is administered by the Department of Conservation.
A number of organisations in New Zealand actively pursue animal welfare issues.
The Royal New Zealand Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RNZSPCA or more commonly, SPCA), the longest established animal welfare organisation in New Zealand, was formed in Dunedin in 1882 and was inspired by the English Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
SAFE (Save Animals From Exploitation) is an animal rights advocacy group that has run a number of high-profile campaigns. SAFE ran a campaign against intensive pig farming featuring the comedian Mike King who had previously fronted an advertising campaign that promoted the sale of pork.
The international animal welfare charity, World Animal Protection has a branch in New Zealand. [15]
Intensive pig farming, also known as pig factory farming, is the primary method of pig production, in which grower pigs are housed indoors in group-housing or straw-lined sheds, whilst pregnant sows are housed in gestation crates or pens and give birth in farrowing crates.
Cruelty to animals, also called animal abuse, animal neglect or animal cruelty, is the infliction by omission (neglect) or by commission by humans of suffering or harm upon non-human animals. More narrowly, it can be the causing of harm or suffering for specific achievements, such as killing animals for entertainment; cruelty to animals sometimes encompasses inflicting harm or suffering as an end in itself, referred to as zoosadism.
Live export is the commercial transport of livestock across national borders. The trade involves a number of countries with the Australian live export industry being one of the largest exporters in the global trade. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, exports of live sheep rose 21.4% and live calves increased 9.7% between March 2017 and March 2018. During 2017 alone, Australia exported 2.85 million living animals in shipping containers and airplanes. The expansion of the trade has been supported by the introduction of purpose-built ships which carry large numbers of animals. The amount of livestock exported from the European Union grew to nearly 586m kilograms between 2014 and 2017, a 62.5% increase during the time period.
The Royal New Zealand Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is a New Zealand charitable society who work to promote the humane treatment of animals. The society consists of 30 animal shelters and 6 vet partnerships around New Zealand, including many in regional areas. Under the Animal Welfare Act 1999, SPCA inspectors have the exclusive power to investigate animal welfare complaints and prosecute abusers when necessary. The Royal NZ SPCA has initiated a range of animal welfare campaigns. It has launched public education campaigns about the humane treatment of animals, and has encouraged people to change their behaviour towards animals. SPCA has also run advocacy campaigns aimed at promoting law changes or questioning the legality of certain practices.
A gestation crate, also known as a sow stall, is a metal enclosure in which a farmed sow used for breeding may be kept during pregnancy. A standard crate measures 6.6 ft x 2.0 ft.
SAFE is a New Zealand animal rights group, with a vision to create an ethical Aotearoa that ensures the rights of animals. Its purpose is to educate, inform and empower people to make cruelty-free, plant-based and vegan choices.
1080, the brand name given to the synthetic form of sodium fluoroacetate, is used in New Zealand in efforts to control populations of possums, rats, stoat and rabbits, which are invasive species in the New Zealand environment. Although the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment deemed the use of 1080 in New Zealand "effective and safe" in a 2011 re-evaluation and the substance is widely considered to be the most effective tool currently available for controlling possums over large areas, it remains a contentious issue, with the majority of the debate occurring between conservationists and livestock farmers on one side and hunters and animal-rights activists on the other.
There is a high use of pesticides in New Zealand due predominantly to the large agricultural industry.
In New Zealand, agriculture is the largest sector of the tradable economy. The country exported NZ$46.4 billion worth of agricultural products in the 12 months to June 2019, 79.6% of the country's total exported goods. The agriculture, forestry and fisheries sector directly contributed $12.653 billion of the national GDP in the 12 months to September 2020, and employed 143,000 people, 5.9% of New Zealand's workforce, as of the 2018 census.
The common brushtail possum was introduced from Australia to New Zealand, where it has become invasive and a major agricultural and conservation pest.
Dairy farming in New Zealand began during the early days of colonisation by Europeans. The New Zealand dairy industry is based almost exclusively on cattle, with a population of 4.92 million milking cows in the 2019-20 season. The income from dairy farming is now a major part of the New Zealand economy, becoming an NZ$13.4 billion industry by 2017.
Animals Australia is an Australian animal protection organisation. Its aim is to investigate and expose animal cruelty, inspire kindness to animals through public awareness campaigns—particularly focused on farmed animals—and provide funding and support to other animal organisations where appropriate, for example in emergency response during the 2019/2020 Australian Black Summer bushfires and COVID-19 pandemic.
Cats are a popular pet in New Zealand. Cat ownership is occasionally raised as a controversial conservation issue due to the predation of endangered species, such as birds and lizards, by feral cats.
Animal welfare and rights in South Korea is about the laws concerning and treatment of non-human animals in South Korea. South Korea's animal welfare laws are weak by international standards. There are a handful of animal welfare and rights organizations working in South Korea, which appear to be focused largely on the welfare of companion animals and the dog meat trade.
Animal welfare and rights in Canada is about the laws concerning and treatment of nonhuman animals in Canada. Canada has been considered to have weak animal welfare protections by the organization World Animal Protection. The vast majority of Canadians are for further animal protections, according to a poll conducted on behalf of Mercy for Animals.
Animal welfare and rights in South Africa is about the treatment of and laws concerning non-human animals in South Africa.
Animal welfare and rights in Russia is about the treatment of and laws concerning non-human animals in Russia. Russia has highly limited animal welfare protections by international standards.
This article is about the treatment of and laws concerning non-human animals in Australia. Australia has moderate animal protections by international standards.
Animal welfare and rights in Mexico regards the treatment of and laws concerning non-human animals in Mexico.
Animal welfare and rights in Denmark relates to the treatment of and laws concerning non-human animals in Denmark. Denmark has moderately strong protections for animals by international standards. In 2014 and again in 2020, Denmark received a B grade on the A–G scale of the World Animal Protection's Animal Protection Index.