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
