Help enforce better regulations regarding animal welfare in New Zealand.
The issue
Have you ever seen a stray running loose around your neighborhood? Tried to catch it and get it somewhere safe, but were met with “We have no space right now, sorry”? Or tried to call about an animal welfare check for an animal that is constantly tied up? And again, was met with “we will drop off some dog food and see if that helps”?
Well, I have, and I have always been sorely disappointed by the lack of response from shelters, that are supposed to help with animal welfare. Because of the lack of space and time, so many animals turn up as roadkill, or are left outside to starve.
Because of a lack of size adequate shelters or even enough shelters in certain areas, so many animals are left to die because “we don't currently have the space.”
This petition is a proposal to get the current animal welfare act 1999 updated with new regulations put in place to help shelters, which in turn will help animals. Some updates I feel the act needs is a section in the act that is fully directed towards shelters, as there is not currently one. I believe these are some of the regulations or similar, needed in the section.
1) There needs to be a certain minimum amount of space for the number of animals in the shelter – to guestimate how this would be done look at the average number of animals they get each year.
2) They should have a minimum number of buildings for the size of a region – such as Taranaki. Taranaki is quite a large area with multiple different towns in different areas and to only have the one SPCA in it all, shows that there obviously need to be more areas for animals to be taken.
3) There should be an adequate drop off zone at most shelters for people who happen to find strays, or for people who can no longer look after their animals. There used to be a drop off zone at the SPCA but again it was removed because of overcrowding.
4) I also believe reported cases of abuse need to be handled more seriously. If someone has sufficient evidence of an animal being abused by the hands of someone else, I believe that, that animal should be removed effectively and efficiently.
To help enforce these regulations, to improve the welfare of our animals in New Zealand please sign this petition and show your support of gaining better government action.
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The issue
Have you ever seen a stray running loose around your neighborhood? Tried to catch it and get it somewhere safe, but were met with “We have no space right now, sorry”? Or tried to call about an animal welfare check for an animal that is constantly tied up? And again, was met with “we will drop off some dog food and see if that helps”?
Well, I have, and I have always been sorely disappointed by the lack of response from shelters, that are supposed to help with animal welfare. Because of the lack of space and time, so many animals turn up as roadkill, or are left outside to starve.
Because of a lack of size adequate shelters or even enough shelters in certain areas, so many animals are left to die because “we don't currently have the space.”
This petition is a proposal to get the current animal welfare act 1999 updated with new regulations put in place to help shelters, which in turn will help animals. Some updates I feel the act needs is a section in the act that is fully directed towards shelters, as there is not currently one. I believe these are some of the regulations or similar, needed in the section.
1) There needs to be a certain minimum amount of space for the number of animals in the shelter – to guestimate how this would be done look at the average number of animals they get each year.
2) They should have a minimum number of buildings for the size of a region – such as Taranaki. Taranaki is quite a large area with multiple different towns in different areas and to only have the one SPCA in it all, shows that there obviously need to be more areas for animals to be taken.
3) There should be an adequate drop off zone at most shelters for people who happen to find strays, or for people who can no longer look after their animals. There used to be a drop off zone at the SPCA but again it was removed because of overcrowding.
4) I also believe reported cases of abuse need to be handled more seriously. If someone has sufficient evidence of an animal being abused by the hands of someone else, I believe that, that animal should be removed effectively and efficiently.
To help enforce these regulations, to improve the welfare of our animals in New Zealand please sign this petition and show your support of gaining better government action.
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Petition created on 30 July 2025