SPCA’s involvement in advocacy

Animal advocacy is the act of promoting better treatment and protection for animals through changes to laws, industry practices, and public attitudes.

Advocacy is part of SPCA’s ‘top of the cliff’ work - Prevention – the ‘P’ in our name.

SPCA advocates for stronger animal welfare laws and practices because lasting change happens when we address the root causes of cruelty and neglect. Rescue and rehoming save individual animals, but good laws and practices protect thousands.

You can visit our advocacy webpage for information on our key campaigns, but SPCA does a lot of behind-the-scenes work on many other topics. You can see a list of everything we’ve submitted on recently here.

If you want to know more about what we’re doing on a specific topic you don’t see here, get in touch.

You can find our Position Statements here.

Yes. While much of our frontline work involves dogs, cats and other companion animals, SPCA advocates for all animals. This includes:

• Companion animals (e.g. chained dog regulations, companion animal Codes of Welfare, mandatory desexing of cats)
• Farmed animals (e.g. protecting the ban on live export, advocating for slower growing chicken breeds)
• Wild animals affected by human activity (e.g. stricter control of bird gel repellents)
• Animals in entertainment, sport, and work (e.g. supporting the ban on greyhound racing)
• Animals used in research, testing and teaching (e.g. the ANZCART Openness Agreement)

SPCA plays a key role by:

• Making expert submissions to local and national government on proposed law or policy changes
• Meeting with Ministers, members of parliament, and local government to discuss urgent animal welfare issues
• Engaging with select committees and local government hearings when legislation or bylaws are under review
• Working with other organisations, including directly with industry and businesses, to build support for better animal protections
• Raising public awareness and encouraging people to have their say through petitions or public consultations

We focus our efforts on the areas where we can have the most impact for the greatest number of animals.

It’s a complex and often slow process, but your voice matters at every step. You can read more about how a new law is drafted and comes into force on the parliament website.

As well as new Bills or Acts or Parliament, there are many types of policies, bylaws, and regulations that you can influence with your voice across both local and central government.

One thing that the different types of legislation have in common is that there is usually a public consultation process where you can make a submission. Follow our national SPCA Facebook page, as we will let you know about key opportunities to make a submission.

A public consultation is a process in which government or local bodies seek feedback from the public on a particular issue, proposal or policy before making a decision.

When there is a public consultation on changes to laws, regulations and bylaws, organisations and members of the public can make written (and sometimes oral) submissions – a formal way of providing feedback and expressing views. If available, hearings can sometimes be attended in person.

Law change involves many steps and must balance different interests, including economic, social and environmental factors. Even when there is strong public support, progress can be slow due to political priorities, limited resources, or changes in Government.

SPCA persistently pushes for progress over months, and often even years, to keep animal welfare on the agenda - because better laws lead to better lives for animals.

After a petition is presented, it’s referred to a select committee. The time taken by a committee to consider a petition can vary widely. Committees can request information on a petition from a wide range of people and organisations, and it can take time to collect and consider this evidence. When the committee has finished considering a petition, it will typically summarise its findings in a report to the House. Some reports make recommendations to the Government about actions or steps the committee wants taken in response to the petition.

Not all petitions lead to immediate outcomes, and there’s no guarantee of change, but the issue becomes part of the public record and may influence future decisions.

You can learn more and track progress of petitions on the New Zealand Parliament website.

Petitions can be powerful tools, but they aren’t always the most effective approach. In some cases, direct advocacy with Government or making formal submissions may lead to better outcomes. When we do launch or support a petition, it’s because we believe it will help achieve meaningful change. In other cases, we encourage the public to take part in public consultations and other opportunities to speak up for animals.

You can sign or create a petition to the government. It is important to check for existing open petitions before creating one as multiple similar petitions have the effect of competing with each other and thus gaining fewer signatures each. You can read more about petitions on the parliament website.

SPCA will consider requests to share petitions on a case-by-case basis, so please reach out. We are more likely to share your petition if you contact us early in the process to give us time to plan, and if it aligns with our Position Statements.

Different organisations play different but complementary roles in advancing the protection of animals. SPCA works to advocate by engaging directly with decision makers. Our organisation does not participate in rallies, whether in person or through inclusion in materials promoting the event. Our employees are free to exercise their right as individuals to lawful protest and freedom of expression, provided they are attending as private individuals rather than as representatives of SPCA.

No. SPCA receives no Government funding for our advocacy work. Our efforts are made possible thanks to generous public donations and grants.

You can take action to support SPCA’s advocacy in many ways. Visit our advocacy page to view our main campaigns and how you can help.

You can also take individual action by:

• Talking about an issue with your friends and family
  You can help to support animal welfare advocacy by talking to people about animal welfare issues, and encouraging them to spread the word.
• Signing or creating a petition
  You can sign or create a petition to the government. It is important to check for existing open petitions before creating one as multiple similar petitions have the effect of competing with each other and thus gaining fewer signatures each.
• Writing to the Ministers responsible
  Any member of the public can contact them to express an opinion or raise an issue. It doesn’t have to be long email or letter - just explain your concerns and why this issue is important to you or New Zealanders as a whole. You can find which Minister is responsible for each portfolio on the Beehive website. If sending a letter, address to the relevant Minister and send using the address below:
  Parliament Buildings
  Private Bag 18041
  Wellington 6160
  New Zealand
• You can write to your local MP
  Members of Parliament are elected to represent us, so listening to the public is a part of their job. Your local MP will be particularly interested in how an issue affects people and animals who live in your electorate. Find your local MP on the parliament website.
• Contact your local councillors
  Your local councillors are elected to represent your communities and regions and deal with issues that affect people and animals such as bylaws for keeping animals, dog control, and pest management. Your local council will have a webpage with information on how to reach out. You can also check out your local council office or library for more information.
• Keep up to date with upcoming public consultations and make submissions wherever possible.
  You can check your local council’s website for when they plan a public consultation to review their bylaws for animals. Some bylaws are called ‘Keeping of Animals’, or ‘Animals’, or are consolidated under a general bylaw. Your local council’s website may let you sign up for alerts or a newsletter that will email you information about the bylaw or other upcoming consultations.
• Contact your local supermarkets, restaurants and other food businesses
  You can ask supermarkets, restaurants and other food businesses for higher-welfare animal products, such as SPCA Certified products by writing to them, emailing them, and tagging them on social media.
• You can write a letter to the editor of a newspaper.
  Writing a letter to the editor is a great way to raise awareness. Several newspapers in New Zealand regularly publish letters to the editor. When submitting a letter, make sure to follow each newspaper's specific guidelines regarding word count and format.
• Follow and share SPCA’s posts on social media.
  Follow SPCA on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and TikTok.

SPCA is an evidence-based animal welfare organisation. You can learn more about the differences between animal welfare and animal rights here.

SPCA advocates for improving the welfare of farmed animals, rather than calling for an end to the farming of animals. This is because, as an animal welfare organisation, we acknowledge the reality that a large proportion of New Zealanders currently choose to consume animal products.

We support practical and manageable changes to people’s buying and eating choices – such as choosing to consume fewer animal products over time, and purchasing those of a higher welfare standard (for example, choosing SPCA Certified eggs). SPCA respects that some of our supporters choose to consume animals or animal products, but also recognises that many of our supporters choose not to.

While animals are farmed, SPCA will always be there to advocate for their welfare.