New Zealand Legislation: Acts

9 Purpose

• (1) The purpose of this Part is to ensure that owners of animals and persons in charge of animals attend properly to the welfare of those animals.

  (2) This Part accordingly—

  • (a) requires owners of animals, and persons in charge of animals, to take all reasonable steps to ensure that the physical, health, and behavioural needs of the animals are met in accordance with both—

    • (i) good practice; and

    • (ii) scientific knowledge; and

  • (b) requires owners of ill or injured animals, and persons in charge of such animals, to ensure that the animals receive, where practicable, treatment that alleviates any unreasonable or unnecessary pain or distress from which the animals are suffering; and

  • (c) imposes restrictions on the carrying out of surgical procedures on animals; and

  • (d) provides for the classification of the types of surgical procedures that may be performed on animals; and

  • (e) specifies the persons or classes of persons who may perform each class of such surgical procedures; and

  • (f) specifies certain minimum conditions that must be observed in relation to the transportation of animals.