New Zealanders have high expectations of how animals are treated – whether they are native birds, animals on farms, or companion animals in our homes. Unfortunately, our animal welfare system is failing the animals it was designed to protect.
As it stands, the legal rights and welfare of animals are overshadowed by the interests of the trade, entertainment, and agriculture sectors. But there is a simple solution; Aotearoa New Zealand needs an independent Commissioner for Animals.
New Zealanders have high expectations of how animals are treated – whether they are native birds, animals on farms, or companion animals in our homes. Unfortunately, our animal welfare system is failing the animals it was designed to protect.
As it stands, the legal rights and welfare of animals are overshadowed by the interests of the trade, entertainment, and agriculture sectors. But there is a simple solution; Aotearoa New Zealand needs an independent Commissioner for Animals.
The Commissioner for Animals Alliance
In 2023, animal welfare and rights organisations joined together to form the Commissioner for Animals Alliance. Together, we are calling for independent representation for animals in parliament.
FAQs
The current system is fundamentally flawed and allows for animals to be the victims of cruelty, exploitation, and neglect. In the present framework, the Government ministers responsible for increasing productivity across the agriculture sector are also responsible for the welfare of the animals being exploited by those systems.
A Commissioner for Animals will ensure all practices and policies for the care of animals are developed without bias, and are consistent with their rights under the Animal Welfare Act.
The Animal Welfare Act is legislation that sets out the obligations of animal owners or people in charge of animals.
The key areas of focus of the Animal Welfare Act are:
- Care of animals
- Conduct towards animals
The framework of the Animal Welfare Act includes:
- Establishing a duty of care for animals
- Setting out the obligations of animal owners or people in charge of animals; they are required to meet an animal’s physical, health, and behavioural needs, and must alleviate pain or distress.
- Provisions to prevent ill treatment and inadequate care of animals.
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
You can find out more about the Animal Welfare Act here
There are several issues with the current system which lead to animals’ legal rights being abused or ignored.
The key issues are:
- Lack of independent oversight
- Conflicts of interest
- Under-enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act
- Insufficient resourcing
Codes of Welfare
The Animal Welfare Act itself does not provide detailed requirements, instead these are outlined in supporting codes of welfare which establish minimum standards and recommended best practice and provide practical guidance on how to comply with the Act. Unfortunately, codes of welfare often dilute the intention of the Animal Welfare, for example many codes permit practices that are illegal under the Animal Welfare Act, and some codes have gone decades without a comprehensive review.
Examples
- In terms of protection for farmed animals, the Animal Welfare Act is undermined by codes of welfare. These codes permit practices that would be considered illegal under the Act, such as the use of cages (hens, fishes) and crates (pigs).
- Animal entertainment industries such as horse racing and rodeo are currently able to operate whilst violating animals’ legal rights. For example, most rodeo practices breach the Animal Welfare Act but the industry is able to operate due a to deeply flawed code of welfare. Likewise, the horse racing industry can largely monitor its own animal welfare standards, with neither MPI nor the SPCA having the jurisdiction to uphold the Animal Welfare Act to ensure horses are safeguarded from harm.
You can find out more about the issues associated with our current animal welfare systems here
As it stands, animal welfare policy is frequently driven by industry stakeholders profiting from the use of animals – so the people making decision on how animals are treated are also benefitting from their harm.
- At government level, animal welfare currently sits within the Minister of Agriculture’s portfolio. The main responsibility of this particular minister is to support and food and fibre section to be ‘productive and prosperous’, which includes promoting and advancing agriculture and export opportunities – both of which profit from the use of animals.In terms of who has oversight of animal welfare in the current structure, we then have an ‘Associate Minister for Agriculture’ who is responsible for animal welfare. But because animal welfare sits under the umbrella of agriculture, the welfare and legal rights of animals are overshadowed by the interests of the trade and agriculture sectors.
. - The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) is the Government agency responsible for supporting primary industry productivity and driving export opportunities, whilst also having enforcement powers under the Animal Welfare Act to receive and act upon welfare and abuse complaints relating to farmed animals. One Government agency cannot be responsible for both supporting animal-related industries, and representing the welfare of those same animals.
. - There are two committees which provide advice to ministers on animal welfare, however neither of these committees is genuinely independent;
1) The National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC)
2) 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) these committees are heavily populated with farmers and people involved in ‘animal use’ industries.
Within the present system, an Associate Minister for Agriculture is responsible for the animal welfare portfolio in Government. But because animal welfare sits within the agriculture portfolio, the welfare and legal rights of animals are overshadowed by the interests of the trade and agriculture sectors.
The current Associate Minister for Agriculture responsible for the animal welfare is Andrew Hoggard. There are significant issues relating to Mr Hoggard holding the animal welfare portfolio due to his connections to industries directly profiting from the use of animals. Mr Hoggard is a farmer himself, with previous roles including being president of Federated Farmers and a board member at the International Dairy Federation, repeatedly demonstrating a focus on industry interests rather than a commitment to improving animal welfare outcomes. Notable examples include his decision to reinstate the ban on live animal exports by sea and his outspoken support for rodeo.
The welfare and legal rights of animals cannot be properly protected until there is independent oversight of animal welfare at parliamentary level.
The National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC) provides advice to the minister responsible for animal welfare. NAWAC develops and reviews the codes of welfare that establish minimum standards and recommended best practice and provide practical guidance on how to comply with the Animal Welfare Act.
One key issue is the committee isn’t accountable for its work programme or the development of codes of welfare, resulting in lengthy delays in codes being developed or reviewed and leaving countless animals vulnerable to exploitation and neglect. These prolonged delays have serious consequences for animals and prevent New Zealanders from having the opportunity – via public consultation – to have their say on the way animals are treated.
During a 2025 committee meeting, NAWAC acknowledged that once commenced, the code of welfare review process can take anywhere from four to six years – and this is in addition to the time it takes for a code to be prioritised for review.
Conflicts of interest are also an issue within NAWAC. Rather than being formed of animal welfare experts (for example specialists in animal care, behaviour, ethics, policy, and law) the committee is heavily populated with farmers, veterinarians, and people involved in ‘animal use’ industries.
The Commissioner for Animals will act independently on all matters relating to animal welfare whilst upholding the intention of the Animal Welfare Act.
This would include:
- Reviewing the current systems set up to manage animal welfare.
. - Providing impartial oversight to ensure the enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act is upheld equally across all industries and trades.
. - Reporting to Parliamentary select committees on petitions, Bills, and Acts of Parliament that could impact animals.
. - Ensuring committees or agencies with responsibility for animal welfare are formed of experts in animal care and welfare, without personal or professional conflicts of interest.
- Sign the petition (below) calling for a Commissioner for Animals
- Talk to your local MP about the urgent need for independent representation for animals in parliament
- Follow our Commissioner for Animals campaign updates through SAFE’s emails and social media
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As it stands, the legal rights and welfare of animals are overshadowed by the interests of the trade, entertainment, and agriculture sectors.
But there is a simple solution – the animals of Aotearoa New Zealand need independent representation in parliament.
Join us in calling for a Commissioner for Animals by adding your name below.
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