The Green Party will align regulation with animals’ rights to good nutrition, environment, health, behaviour, and mental state, and provide strong oversight and accountability. We will minimise the systemic exploitation of animals and require an ethical and humane approach to managing animals. We will carefully balance the needs of indigenous species and introduced animals, and uphold the Kaitiaki role and whakapapa connections of Māori to animals.
Vision
All animals are respected and their rights are upheld.
Values and Principles
- Aroha: All living things possess an inherent dignity and mauri. Animals are due respect, love, and rights. Humans have a duty of care towards the animals they interact with. They should not be violated or exploited, and their distress and pain should be minimised.
- Whanaungatanga: All living things are interconnected. We should live in reciprocal relationships with animals. The deep, ancestral connection Māori have with the land and its inhabitants must be respected.
- Tikanga: Societal systems, cultural practices, and traditional knowledge shape and are shaped by our relationship with animals. Engagement with companion animals is a privilege, not a right.
- Kaitiakitanga: Humans must interact with other animals in ways that support resilience and ecosystem health. Indigenous species and ecosystems are essential for maintaining supporting ecological balance so [they] must be paramount, with their interests prioritised over invasive species.
- Mōhiotanga: Humans have an ethical obligation to make informed decisions on behalf of animals, drawing on the best available knowledge of their needs and behaviours. Tikanga and mātauranga Māori must be upheld alongside the evolutionary history and ecology of animals.
Strategic Priorities
The Green Party’s strategic goals include:
“Our laws and practices will respect the biological integrity of all life, while prioritising the health of indigenous species and ecosystems.”
Actions in this policy that work towards this goal include:
- Establish a Department of Animal Welfare, led by a Minister for Animal Welfare, with responsibility for legislation, enforcement, hosting the NAWAC and NAEAC, and advocating for the welfare of all animals. (1.5)
- Require people who breed companion animals for sale, and rescue centres, to register and hold a current license. (2.1)
- Develop local regulations around pet ownership to cater for the indigenous species residing in that locale, such as requiring catios to keep cats safe and protect local biodiversity. (5.1)
- Introduce national standards for desexing dogs and for registering, desexing, and microchipping cats. (5.3)
Connected Policies
Our Biodiversity and Environmental Regeneration Policy supports the wellbeing of indigenous animals. See also specific policy to humanely manage animals and minimise their systemic exploitation in Agriculture, Trade and Foreign Investment, Research, Science, and Technology, Recreation and Sport, and in the Marine environment.
