July 2010

People who abuse animals face the possibility of much tougher sentencing thanks to this month's passing into law of the Animal Welfare Amendment Act.

The new legislation raises the maximum sentence for willful ill-treatment of an animal from three to five years, whilst doubling fine levels to a possible $100,000 for an individual or $500,000 for a body corporate. The act also creates a new offence of reckless ill-treatment of animals.

Parliament's unanimous backing of the measure owed a great deal to years of advocacy and campaigning by animal welfare organisations, including, pre-eminently, Matter of Fact's long-standing client, the Royal New Zealand SPCA.

Down the years, Matter of Fact has highlighted many individual cases of animal abuse on the SPCA's behalf, whilst consistently arguing the case for tougher sentences.

We're also responsible for introducing the SPCA's annual 'List of Shame', which regularly draws media attention to the worst cases of cruelty towards animals and which has helped sharpen public concern over this issue.

As the SPCA's National Chief Executive, Robyn Kippenberger, points out, the unanimous passing of the new bill reflects the will of all those New Zealanders who want to see our animals cared for in the right way.

"Our animal welfare law is now one of the strongest internationally, as is totally appropriate for a country largely reliant on primary production and, therefore, on its reputation for the humane treatment of animals," Robyn says.