There are fresh calls for a new way of managing our animal welfare system – but so far, the idea has fallen on deaf ears.
New Zealand has laws to protect everything from domestic companions – like cats and dogs – to our wild and farmed animals.
But animal rights charity Save Animals From Exploitation (SAFE) believes the current setup isn’t working.
The group wants an ‘Independent Commissioner for Animals’ to be introduced as it believes there are conflicting goals.
Chief executive Debra Ashton told 1News, “I think it’s a system that is broken and it is a system that needs to be fixed.”
The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) is in charge of animal welfare, particularly larger commercial operations.
The SPCA also works alongside the ministry, which has legal powers.
Massey University professor Ngaio Beausoleil, who specialises in animal welfare studies, said New Zealand “had a reputation in the past of really being a world leader in animal welfare”.
“That was recognised in about 2018 by World Animal Protection, ranking us number one equal… because of our law and because of the way that we enact our law.”
But since that time, she said we have dropped “quite dramatically” in the ranking.
Both Beausoleil and Ashton believe one problem is MPI’s conflicting goals.
“This is a direct conflict of interest because their objective is to seize export opportunities and to increase productivity… when economics is at stake, animal welfare will always take second place,” Ashton said.
Beausoleil said having a dedicated animal commissioner would be a “really interesting idea”.
“We’ve got people who represent human interests like the Ombudsman, we’ve got somebody who represents the interests of the environment. I think that that would be seen internationally as a progressive step,” she said.
In a statement to 1News, MPI said it “is committed to ensuring the welfare of animals and has a strong system in place to take action where required”.
Since June 2022, MPI has increase animal welfare inspectors from 27 to 42 across the country, and now manage around 2500 cases each year – 336 of those are proactive inspections.
The SPCA told 1News it has advocated for a commissioner in the past and said it could improve oversight.
But Federated Farmers argued against it, saying a commissioner would be another layer of bureaucracy. The advocacy group added that our regulations are world-class and the current approach to enforcement is working.
Associate Agriculture Minister Andrew Hoggard, who looks after the Animal Welfare portfolio, said he believed MPI and the SPCA “are doing a good job in terms of managing welfare and continue to support them in doing that”.
Ashton said their supporters want to “know that we are addressing the cruelty issues that keep coming up year after year after year”.
She added that an animals commissioner “is something that even farmers could get behind”.
“You only get one bad apple that actually will impact on all farmers, for example,” she said.
“If we are supporting farmers and we are supporting anybody responsible for animals, I think that has to be a good thing.
“I think it’s a win-win for everyone but, most of all, for those animals.”