SPCA advocates for farming systems that allow animals to have a Good Life where they experience positive welfare and their physical, health, and behavioural needs are met.

SPCA is opposed to farming systems that do not allow farmed animals to display normal behaviour.

Our organisation supports farming systems that allow for the formation and maintenance of social bonds, including mother-offspring bonds.

SPCA advocates for feeding practices that allow animals to have positive experiences. SPCA is opposed to farmed systems that prioritise productivity and convenience over the welfare needs of farmed animals. Prevention of feeding behaviour and lack of satiety contributes to the development of abnormal behaviours, such as injurious pecking in chickens, non-nutritive sucking in calves, and bar biting in pigs.

SPCA opposes intensive farming systems that rely on close confinement, including the use of colony cages for hens and farrowing crates for sows, high stocking densities, such as feedlots and barn-raised meat chickens, and genetics that compromise the welfare of the animal, found in commercial breeds across most farmed species.

Millions of animals are farmed in cages and at high stocking densities in New Zealand each year. Lack of sufficient space, i.e. using cages, close confinement and high stocking densities, prevents animals from displaying species-specific behaviours, which is a breach of our Animal Welfare Act. These systems should be phased out as soon as possible.

Modern farmed animals have been selectively bred for increased productivity, such as large litter sizes in pig production and fast-growing meat chickens. The focus on productivity gains has led to serious compromises in animal health and welfare. SPCA advocates for genetic solutions for healthier, higher welfare commercial breeds and strains.

If necessary, the government should provide support to ensure that farmers can meet or exceed phase-out dates, including funding for on-farm training of new practices or systems and for research into technology and innovation.

SPCA opposes farming systems that have significant detrimental impacts on local wildlife or ecosystems.

SPCA is concerned about the negative impacts on local wildlife populations, ecosystems and biodiversity from pollution, leaching, waste, soil degradation and land use change from farmed animal production systems. SPCA is concerned about greenhouse gas emissions from farmed animal production systems and associated practices such as feed produced for livestock. More needs to be done by Government and farming industries to eliminate, minimise, and mitigate the harmful impacts of farmed animal production systems on the environment. Our organisation supports initiatives and programmes aimed at achieving this, provided they do not compromise animal welfare.