Animal Welfare: New Zealand Recognizes Animals as Sentient Beings

A bill amending the Animal Welfare Act of 1999 explicitly recognizes that animals are sentient beings capable of experiencing emotions—both positive and negative—such as pain or distress. It also bans animal testing for cosmetics. This Animal Welfare Amendment Bill, introduced in May 2013, has just been officially passed by the New Zealand Parliament.   With this vote on May 12, 2015, New Zealand has taken an important step forward in animal welfare by recognizing animals as living beings rather than things or objects. What is new is the explicit nature of this recognition of animal sentience in the law. This provides a broader foundation for the requirements of the Animal Welfare Act. The new legislation also includes a ban on the use of animals for research and testing conducted by the cosmetics industry, including the forced ingestion of chemicals. In this regard, New Zealand is following in the footsteps of the European Union, India, and Norway by prohibiting the testing of cosmetics manufactured within its borders on rabbits, beagles, rats, or monkeys. The next step will be to extend this ban to imported products, since 90% of the cosmetics purchased in New Zealand come from abroad… In addition, the law requires pet owners and those responsible for animals to help ensure their animal welfare. In this context, cases of abuse and neglect will now be punished more severely. These harsher penalties (imprisonment, fines) will help combat minor and moderate offenses in this area more effectively and will also serve as a significant deterrent. The law also grants animal welfare inspectors the authority to issue compliance notices, among other measures. Thus, New Zealand’s animal welfare legislation reflects societal shifts regarding the status of animals in the country. The new law builds on a series of recent positive developments related to animal protection and environmental issues. For example, in 2012, the country granted legal personhood to the Whanganui River (Ecuador had done the same with its forests, lakes, and rivers in 2008 to protect them), and last fall, New Zealand joined Australia in opposing Japanese whaling expeditions in the Southern Ocean.