Positions - Companion Animals

SPCA supports the principle of controlled entry of animals into New Zealand to protect the country from potential biosecurity risks. SPCA advocates that animals in quarantine must be provided with a Good Life where they experience positive welfare and their physical, health and behavioural needs are met.

​SPCA supports the keeping of backyard chickens and other poultry, provided they have a Good Life where they experience positive welfare and their physical, health, and behavioural needs are met.

SPCA advocates for companion cats to be kept at home to keep them safe from harm and promote positive welfare, whilst minimising their negative impacts on wildlife and nuisance in the community. Cats can be kept healthy and happy at home through a variety of ways including an enriched indoor environment, a safe and secure area such as a fenced garden, or with a cat enclosure or “catio”.

SPCA advocates for animals to be provided with a properly fenced area which allows them to have a Good Life where they experience positive welfare and their physical, health, and behavioural needs are met.

SPCA advocates that police officers use properly trained handlers to pacify or safely contain animals.

SPCA advocates for the implementation of humane and sustainable management strategies, including effective non-lethal cat management, such as managed targeted trap-neuter-return programmes with the overall goal of no stray cats in New Zealand.

SPCA supports the use of managed and targeted Trap-Neuter-Return methods to control populations of stray cats, providing it is carried out according to best practice guidelines.

SPCA advocates that people involved in the showing and breeding of animals must prioritise health, welfare, and behavioural traits, when choosing which animals to breed, permit for entry to shows and select as winners.

SPCA is concerned about animal hoarding and recognises that it is a complex issue which encompasses mental health, animal welfare, and public safety concerns.

SPCA advocates that all persons involved in the breeding, keeping, or use of horses, ponies and other domesticated equines must have the facilities, skills, knowledge, and resources to provide them with a Good Life where they experience positive welfare and meet their physical, health and behavioural needs throughout their life.