The Animal Justice Party Aotearoa New Zealand (AJP) believes it is time for the animals of Aotearoa to have a voice in Parliament. We are advocating for the independent role of Commissioner for Animals to be appointed to act on behalf of animals to ensure their well-being takes priority. We believe animals deserve adequate protection from exploitation and harm.
The Animal Justice Party Aotearoa NZ (AJP) takes issue with the current animal agriculture model, and the treatment of animals in this sector. This model deems animals as property and treats them as commodities. But animals are not things.
The Animal Justice Party Aotearoa NZ (AJP) wants animals to be appreciated, respected, cared for, and be given their natural rights. They should not be exploited for entertainment, for profit, or to feed a gambling addiction.
The Animal Justice Party Aotearoa NZ (AJP) believes that there are grave issues with the practice of intensive winter grazing. Equally, despite reviews that were enacted after the SAFE 2019 exposé, little has been done to rectify the issues caused by intensive winter grazing and animals are continuing to suffer in these deplorable conditions.
The Animal Welfare Act 1999, section 4(b) states that ‘animals must be provided adequate shelter’ and section (c) states that they must have ‘the opportunity to display normal patterns of behaviour’. Animals with access to shelter will often congregate together under the shelter, exposing this as a natural behavior. However, adequate shelter and the opportunity to display normal patterns of behaviour are seldom tied together in application, and there are differences of opinions regarding what adequate shelter is for each type of farmed animal as shown in this recent report by the Ministry for Primary Industries.1
The Animal Justice Party Aotearoa NZ (AJP) believes animals should not be used for entertainment. In greyhound racing, horse racing, and rodeo, for example, animals are repeatedly put in harm’s way, but even when lives aren’t on the line, and behind the scenes, abuse and neglect is endemic in these sectors. What’s more, animals bred to work in the entertainment industries are too often mistreated and killed when they are not profitable.
