Sue Kedgley

The Green Party will be introducing amendments to strengthen the Animal Welfare Amendment Bill, said the Green Party's animal welfare spokesperson Sue Kedgley.

The Animal Welfare Amendment Bill which raises the penalty for cruelty to animals is likely to have its First Reading in Parliament today.

Ms Kedgley said the Green Party supported the addition of a new category of reckless ill treatment of animals and hoped it would make it easier for prosecutions to be made.

While the Green Party will support the legislation Ms Kedgley is concerned that the Bill deals only with individual acts of cruelty against animals and ignores the wider institutional abuse of animals.

"Provisions relating to the abuse of farm animals need to be strengthened, and not just those relating to companion animals or pets," said Ms Kedgley.

"We need to send a strong message to all New Zealanders who work with animals that animal abuse is intolerable and will be punished accordingly.

"The Government also needs to increase the number of Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry inspectors," said Ms Kedgley. "There is little point in increasing the length of sentences for animal welfare offences, if there are so few inspectors to enforce any new law."

According to recent figures from MAF itself, only five full-time Animal Welfare Investigators are currently employed to monitor millions of animals. MAF also prosecutes less than 2% of the complaints it receives.

"The Government has effectively abdicated their duty to police animal welfare to the SPCA - a charitable organisation which relies on the public for donations," said Ms Kedgley.

"Along with increasing the length of sentences for animal welfare crimes, resources need to be put into put into Animal Welfare inspectors in order to increase the chances of successful prosecutions of animal cruelty."