PRODUCTS

We're back with another plea for a national food strategy! You may remember that before the 2023 election VAWA partnered with EatNZ and Freedom Farms to ask for a community-led, government-facilitated national food strategy in a campaign called #fixourfoodsystem. We did not get what we wanted so we are back at it again! #nevergiveup This time we're delighted to be part of another powerful collective who believe that no matter who you are or where you're from, everyone in Aot

Winston's surprise move What a day! On 10 December 2024, The Minister for Racing announced that "Stopping greyhound racing was "the right thing to do". He noted the “... action wasn’t taken lightly, but independent reviews in 2013, 2017 and 2021 provided clear evidence of serious animal welfare concerns. While improvements were made, those gains plateaued and injury/death rates remained unacceptably high to the point the sport had lost its social licence. Action had to be tak

Find out why VAWA opposes octopus farming.

Our Ambition VAWA wants to drive change towards systems, ways of living and engaging with animals that ensure Papatūānuku (Mother Earth)...

We have opinions! Yip, it's true, we do! Read our opinion pieces, things that we are thinking about and what we are working on. The end of greyhound racing. We teamed up with “Emily Writes” to cut through online rhetoric against the greyhound racing ban. Our collab with Emily - Time to kill… this time the industry, not the dogs - unpacked the real welfare record behind the spin: race-day injuries, euthanasia rates, and the industry's history of unmet recommendations. Read mor

At this site, you can see submissions and advocacy work that VAWA has undertaken as we seek to create better lives for animals. To achieve this, we use our knowledge and expertise in veterinary and animal welfare science and our five tools - education, advocacy, submissions, consultation and collaboration. We aim to influence decision-makers and help make progress for animals and their welfare. We work for all of Aotearoa's animals from wildlife to farmed animals, from those

The wickedness of mud and (no) trees. A discussion on how we got here and why it's hard to change.

VAWA submitted an extensive feedback document to NAWAC/MPI on the Code of Welfare | Deer. We note that the Deer Industry New Zealand...

Animals should only be transported when their welfare can be appropriately managed, including for the pre- and post- transportation...

It has happened! Livestock export is banned ! (But under threat in 2024 - see here for more information) This is a significant win for...

The animal welfare system is set up as a “fox in the henhouse” - a reset is needed.

The Western Australian government has just closed consultation on proposed Veterinary Practice Regulations. Most New Zealand...

The Wrap on Foot and Mouth Disease: use NAIT, have good biosecurity; be vigilant!

Policy | Animal Welfare Animals are sentient, have intrinsic value, and their welfare matters. In its 2015 amendment, Aoteaora New Zealand's Animal Welfare Act 1999 acknowledged the sentience of animals: Contemporary animal welfare thinking means enabling our animals to have positive animal welfare outcomes, rather than just minimising their suffering. Positive welfare can be experienced by an animal when it has opportunities to engage in activities it finds rewarding. These

Australia New Zealand Better Chicken Commitment VAWA is delighted to be a signatory on the Australia New Zealand Better Chicken...

VAWA was delighted to have the opportunity to speak at the inaugural Animal Health and Veterinary Nursing Educators' Symposium (July...

VAWA submitted an extensive feedback document yo NAWAC/MPI on the Code of Welfare | Dairy Cattle. We made the following introductory...

A new regulation enabling veterinary nurses to undertake some dental procedures has received Royal Assent! This is fabulous news after...

Postscript: pigs not in space, but crates, for ever. Following the 2020 judicial review of farrowing crate regulations that found them to be unlawful and invalid, the then Labour Government passed interim regulations to give farmers five years to transition away from crate use. At the end of that specified period, little progress had been made, meaning no further extensions could be given. That left the National government and pig farmers in a pickle: no progress made, no le

NZTR contracted VAWA to help deliver their annual animal welfare forum in both 2022 and 2023. In 2022, we took the opportunity to talk...