You can view each party's response below.
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Sustainable NZ
Sustainable New Zealand received the highest mark of any party for its response to Animal Agenda Aotearoa in 2020 – 19.5 out of 20. The party did not exist in 2014 or 2017.
Sustainable New Zealand supported almost all of the Animal Agenda Aotearoa 2020 items. It lost half a mark as it supported a Commissioner for Animals, but not a Minister for Animals.
The Greens
The Greens received the second-highest mark of any party for their response to Animal Agenda Aotearoa 2020 – 19 out of 202. In 2014, the Greens were marked 8.5 out of 10 and in 2017 their mark was the highest of any party – 18.5 out of 20.
The Greens lost half a mark for only partially supporting legal personality for animals – although partial support was more than other respondents supported. The Greens also lost .25 of a mark for their responses to live export bans and protections for Māui and Hector’s dolphins.
The Greens believe that animals should not suffer to provide entertainment for humans. They support banning rodeos and are particularly opposed to calf roping. During this term of Parliament, they prepared a Member’s Bill to outlaw many aspects of rodeo.
In relation to factory farming, the Greens are committed to phasing out factory farming methods that cause suffering to animals or prevent them from expressing normal patterns of behaviour.
The Greens support requiring non-animal methods of experimentation being used, including by developing a public database of alternatives to animal testing.
The party back cameras both on fishing boats and in slaughterhouses.
A new animal policy from the Greens is support for banning greyhound racing. The party did not back a ban on greyhound racing in 2017.
The Greens support both a Minister for Animal Welfare and an independent Commissioner for Animal Welfare.
Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis
The Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party received a mark of 16.5 out of 20 for its response to Animal Agenda Aotearoa 2020, the third-highest score of any party.
The party lost marks for not having a specific animal policy, and for not supporting a ban on greyhound racing. The Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party believes that greyhounds and dogs in general love to race and that, with proper safeguards in place, it is possible to make greyhound racing safe for dogs. It opposes the use of live bait. The party also does not support restricting the use of animals in entertainment as it believes that horse racing assists in keeping horses relevant and maintaining a variety of breeds.
The Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party believes that promoting a hemp industry can play a significant role in developing sustainable land uses.
NZ Outdoors Party
The Outdoors Party New Zealand completed the questionnaire and was marked 13 out of 20. The Outdoors Party New Zealand did not exist in 2014 or 2017 and accordingly did not complete the survey in those years.
The Outdoors Party supports banning calf roping and calf riding, but does not back a total ban on rodeos. It opposes the use of abusive practices to force animals to act aggressively.
The party supports the abolition of factory farming. It advocates ending the use of cages – apart from farrowing crates for a short time – and bringing animals back outside onto pastures.
The Outdoors Party opposes all animal testing and is also against the use of all neurotoxins, including 1080.
The party supports lifetime bans and prosecutions for the use of live baiting in greyhound racing, but does not advocate the abolition of greyhound racing.
The Outdoors Party’s policy is to dissolve and decentralise the Ministry for Primary Industries and the Ministry for the Environment. It does not back a Minister for Animals or Commissioner for Animals.
The party does not support restricting the use of animals in entertainment. It believes that horse racing plays a significant role in supporting jobs and other aspects of rural communities.
The Outdoors Party supports the current ban on the export of live animals for slaughter and also advocates closing the loophole allowing animals to be exported for breeding. The party says that such exports in reality are often for slaughter. It supports banning live exports by sea.
Labour
The Labour Party’s performance on animal welfare has been very disappointing in the past three years. Prior to the 2017 election, the party’s then-animal welfare spokesperson said that Labour supported a Minister for Animal Welfare and a speedy phase-out of factory farming.
However, once Labour took office it declined to be bound by or act on its previous spokesperson’s commitments.
For the first time in history in Aotearoa, Labour in 2017 appointed an Associate Agriculture Minister with specific responsibility for animal welfare. However, when Meka Whaitiri lost her position, Labour did not appoint a replacement. In 2020, its policy is to have no minister with responsibility for animal welfare and it does not support an independent Commissioner for Animal Welfare.
Labour stated in its response that it believed that the Hon Damien O’Connor was an effective minister through his portfolios. This ignores the conflict inherent in having the minister responsible for agriculture and primary industries also in charge of animal welfare.
Labour does not support banning fireworks.
Labour in 2019 began work on greatly restricting live exports, which was extremely encouraging, but that initiative has now stalled.
National
National in 2020 received a mark of 2.75 out of 20 for its response to Animal Agenda Aotearoa. In 2014, National’s mark was 1 out of 10 and in 2014 it was marked 4.5 out of 20.
National supports cameras on fishing boats but not cameras in slaughterhouses. The party says its environmental policy focuses on sustainable land use.
National says that it has supported a number of initiatives to protect Māui and Hector’s dolphins, including the Dan Rogers marine reserve in Akaroa Harbour.
The party does not support banning rodeos or greyhound racing. National believes that use of the forced swim test and other types of animal testing should be decided by the relevant institutions.
New Zealand First
New Zealand First did not complete the questionnaire or provide any response at all to Animal Agenda Aotearoa in 2020. In 2014, the party completed the survey and was marked 1 out of 10. In 2017, it received a mark of 8.95 out of 20.
Act
ACT New Zealand did not respond to the Animal Agenda Aotearoa questionnaire in 2014, 2017 or 2020 and as far as we know does not have an animal policy or an animal spokesperson. It was therefore marked zero on all questions.
Mana
MANA did not respond to the Animal Agenda Aotearoa questionnaire in 2020. MANA did not exist in 2014, but in 2017 it completed the survey and was marked 1 out of 20.
Māori
The Māori Party did not respond to the Animal Agenda Aotearoa questionnaire in 2020. In 2017, the Māori Party completed the questionnaire and was marked 15 out of 20.
New Conservatives
The New Conservatives did not complete the Animal Agenda Aotearoa questionnaire, but provided a one-line response –
“As a minor party we do not have policies on every area, and a policy on animals we do not have.”
The New Zealand Democratic Party for Social Credit
The New Zealand Democratic Party for Social Credit did not respond to the Animal Agenda Aotearoa questionnaire.
The Opportunities Party
The Opportunities Party did not respond to the Animal Agenda Aotearoa questionnaire. This is a step backwards from 2017, when TOP answered the survey and received a mark of 2.5 out of 20. TOP did not exist in 2014.
Vision NZ
Vision New Zealand did not complete the Animal Agenda Aotearoa questionnaire, but provided the following response -
“Vision New Zealand’s policy focus is on the welfare of vulnerable humanity:
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Unborn children who can now be aborted up to birth and left to die if they survive being aborted
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The elderly with the End of Life Bill
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The thousands of families in poverty and the homeless
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Those who are wilfully discriminated against and marginalised in our society ie Maori
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The loss of our precious freedoms and
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The attach (sic) on the Church and our founding faith”.