The NZ animal welfare act needs a shake up. This petition focusses on backyard kitten breeders who continually impregnate Queens because of greed. This often comes with neglect, is abusive in of itself, and often because of inbreeding causes genetic and physiological disasters. 

 

The Act (see 5.2 and 5.3): 

Companion Cats (mpi.govt.nz)

https://www.mpi.govt.nz/dmsdocument/46021/direct

 

There is no provision in the companion cat welfare act which states ONLY certified and registered breeders are allowed to breed cats to sell. This is abhorrent and also contributes to the many unwanted cats every year. 

 

We want this changed so that ONLY registered and certified breeders may sell their cats. Clause 5.3 is confusing - kittens should only leave their mothers at 12 weeks, another reason to enforce the breeder only provision into the New Zealand Animal Welfare (companion animal - cats) act which is administered under MPI. Currently the act says kittens may leave their mothers at 8 weeks - we oppose this. Kittens need to stay with their mothers for 12 weeks for nursing purposes. Kittens should not be forcefully weaned early unless the mother initiates it but that does not warrant kittens leaving their mother at 8 weeks. If the mother initiates weaning early we propose bottle feeding to the 12 week mark. 

https://acrobat.adobe.com/link/review?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:85a26fef-6aaf-438b-a3bc-60081fbb8eed

 

Here is my story:

Our ragdoll boy was bought but actually he was rescued from a backyard breeder who provides one tiny room for her continuous kitten mill. Because of the lack of regulations when it comes to cat breeders she has full reign to continuously allow her Queen to be impregnated and go through repeated births. I am a mother, labour is painful. To continuously allow a Queen to be impregnated is abuse. 

 

The lack of regulations sickens me and so does the greed of backyard breeders. 

 

Please sign so I can take this petition as part of a submission to the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI).

 

1. We propose ONLY certified breeders registered with https://catzinc.org/ and/or the nz cat fancy association (nzcf.com) to register and select the breeders of cats to sell to the public and with registered breeders allowed 2-3 litters only, with 3 litters being the absolute maximum.
2. We propose regular inspections of the registered breeders to ensure they comply with care and welfare needs as set out by the act and breeder policies. 
3.  We also propose kittens only leave the Queen ONLY when they are at 12 weeks of age.
4. We also propose TradeMe tighten their regulations to only allow registered breeders to be able to sell on the platform. 

 

Cats should be pets not breeding machines!

 

Safe link (this link applies to kitten mills too):

https://safe.org.nz/our-work/animals-in-aotearoa/puppy-mills/

NAWAC

httpshttps://www.nawac.org.nz/://www.nawac.org.nz/