UnitedFuture has become increasingly concerned with the number of serious and fatal dog attacks that have occurred throughout New Zealand over the last few years. Equally, the perpetrators of animal cruelty must face consequences that give weight to the brutality of the crime rather than the status of the victim. In terms of animal welfare in primary industries, UnitedFuture supports measures that inform consumer choice and confidence.
It is UnitedFuture policy to:
- Continue to put dangerous dog breeds on a ban-list and require neutering for dogs on that list as well as placing a ban on new animals. No one will have to give up their current pet, but over time the number of dangerous dogs will decline until such breeds no longer exist in New Zealand;
- Promote mandatory standardised labelling with regard to the use of animals in food production (e.g. to prevent misleading advertising which blurs the distinction between battery and free-range eggs);
- Increase the number of Animal Welfare Inspectors from the current 11;
- Support measures that move us in the direction of outlawing practices in New Zealand such as sow stalls and battery caged hen, farrowing crates, and the like, whilst ensuring that this doesn't result in New Zealanders buying products from offshore markets where the restrictions aren’t the same;
- Support the phasing out of the sale and use of gin traps.