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Animal Welfare Act 1999

Provisions relating to administration - Power to inspect land, premises, and places and stationary vehicles, aircraft, and ships

130: Power to prevent or mitigate suffering

You could also call this:

"Stopping Animal Suffering: Inspectors Can Help Animals in Need"

Illustration for Animal Welfare Act 1999

If you are an inspector and you think an animal is suffering, you can take steps to help it. You can do what you think is necessary to stop the animal's suffering, including putting the animal down if needed. You can also tell the animal's owner to take steps to help the animal. If you tell the owner to help the animal, you must do this in writing. The owner can be given the notice in person, by fax or email, or by post. If the owner does not help the animal, they can get in trouble with the law. You can get in trouble if you do not follow the inspector's notice to help the animal. If you are an individual, you can be fined up to $5,000, and if you are a company, you can be fined up to $25,000. Before an animal is put down, the inspector must follow a special process, which is outlined in section 138. You can serve a notice to the owner by delivering it to them, or by sending it to their address. The notice is considered served when it is delivered, or when it would have been delivered in the normal mail. If the notice is sent to a company, it is considered served when it is received by the company. If you do not follow the notice, you can be fined. The fine can be up to $5,000 for an individual, or up to $25,000 for a company. The inspector has the power to make sure animals are treated well, and you must follow their instructions to help an animal in need.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM51262.

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Topics:
Animal welfare > Preventing animal crueltyAnimal welfare > Animal protection servicesEnvironment and resources > Animal welfareCrime and justice > Animal-related offences
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"Inspector must leave a note if they enter your property when you're not there"

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Part 7Provisions relating to administration
Power to inspect land, premises, and places and stationary vehicles, aircraft, and ships

130Power to prevent or mitigate suffering

  1. Where an inspector, either in the course of the exercise of a power of entry under section 127 or at any other time, has reasonable grounds to believe that an animal is suffering or is likely to suffer unreasonable or unnecessary pain or distress, the inspector—

  2. may take all such steps as the inspector considers are necessary or desirable to prevent or mitigate the suffering of the animal (including, if necessary, destroying or arranging for the destruction of the animal); and
    1. may, by notice in writing given by the inspector to the owner or the person in charge of the animal or any person appearing to be in charge of the animal, require the person to whom the notice is given to take all such steps as the inspector considers are necessary or desirable to prevent or mitigate the suffering of the animal (including, if necessary, destroying or arranging for the destruction of the animal).

      1. If an inspector proposes to destroy, or require the destruction of, an animal under subsection (1), the inspector must ensure that the process in section 138 is followed before the animal is destroyed (as if that section applied).

      2. Without limiting section 185, a notice under subsection (1)(b) may be served on a person by—

      3. delivering it personally to the person:
        1. delivering it to the person at the person's usual or last-known place of residence or business:
          1. sending it by fax or email to the person's fax number or email address:
            1. posting it in a letter addressed to the person at the person's usual or last-known place of residence or business.

              1. The following provisions apply to service as described in subsection (1B):

              2. service on an officer of a body, or on the body's registered office, is deemed to be service on the body:
                1. service on any of the partners in a partnership is deemed to be service on the partnership:
                  1. service by post is deemed to occur at the time at which the notice would have been delivered in the ordinary course of the post.

                    1. A person commits an offence who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with any requirement of an inspector under subsection (1)(b).

                    2. A person who commits an offence against subsection (2) is liable on conviction,—

                    3. in the case of an individual, to a fine not exceeding $5,000; or
                      1. in the case of a body corporate, to a fine not exceeding $25,000.

                        Notes
                        • Section 130(1)(a): amended, on , by section 195(1) of the Search and Surveillance Act 2012 (2012 No 24).
                        • Section 130(1)(b): amended, on , by section 195(2) of the Search and Surveillance Act 2012 (2012 No 24).
                        • Section 130(1A): inserted, on , by section 49(1) of the Animal Welfare Amendment Act (No 2) 2015 (2015 No 49).
                        • Section 130(1B): inserted, on , by section 49(1) of the Animal Welfare Amendment Act (No 2) 2015 (2015 No 49).
                        • Section 130(1C): inserted, on , by section 49(1) of the Animal Welfare Amendment Act (No 2) 2015 (2015 No 49).
                        • Section 130(2): amended, on , by section 49(2) of the Animal Welfare Amendment Act (No 2) 2015 (2015 No 49).
                        • Section 130(3): amended, on , by section 413 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 (2011 No 81).