Every animal deserves a life worth living. Where do the parties stand?
Every animal deserves a life worth living. Most New Zealanders agree, but in the thick of election season, it can be hard to find where each party stands on animal welfare issues.
We asked political parties five questions about their plans – if any – to improve farmed animal welfare. We then assessed their answers against specific commitments. We also looked at their statements and track records over the last term of government. Our scorecard lays party responses side by side, so you can see who is ready to stand up for farmed animals and make your own informed choice this November 7.
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Scorecard Key
💚 = supports
🧡 = nearly there / partial support
💔 = does not support
? = no clear position or did not respond
Below the summary images, you’ll find each question we asked, along with every party’s full response where one was given.
Animals Aotearoa is not affiliated with, and does not endorse any party or politician. This scorecard aims to raise awareness of farmed animal welfare in New Zealand, and support informed public engagement with the political process. It summarises party positions on issues relevant to the mission of Animals Aotearoa: ending the suffering of farmed animals in Aotearoa New Zealand, kia mutu ai te whakataumaha i ngā kararehe pāmu.
Election Scorecard 2026 – Full Report
How we created the scorecard
We wrote to every political party registered at the time of contact, inviting them to answer five questions about their commitments to farmed animals. We assessed each party’s answers against the specific commitments in our questionnaire, and we also looked at their public statements, published policies and actions over the last term of government, including responses they gave to other animal welfare organisations. This helped us build a fuller picture of where each party stands, including those that chose not to respond. Every party that replied is included, and their answers are published in full so you can read their positions in their own words.
Parties that did not respond are included if they are currently in Parliament or polling over 5%.
Please note that an emoji score cannot convey nuance of policy or statements. Our issue summary cards above are an indication of position, not a detailed breakdown. For a fuller picture, we recommend reading the written answers and comments below, reading party manifestos, and asking candidates directly.
1. Keep octopuses wild
The Question: Will your party commit to prohibiting commercial octopus farming in New Zealand?
ACT: No response.
However, ACT MP and Associate Minister of Agriculture, Andrew Hoggard, has instructed NAWAC to deprioritise animal welfare codes for aquatic animals. He has not commented publicly on octopus farming, and ACT do not have policy relating to aquaculture on their website.
Animal Justice Party: Yes. New Zealand has a rare opportunity to stop a cruel industry before it begins. We believe it is far better to prevent this suffering than try to regulate it after the fact. See our policies on abolishing animal farming, prohibiting new animal farming establishments, opposing intensive aquaculture, recognising animal sentience, and phasing out aquaculture and fish farming at https://animaljustice.org.nz/.
Green Party: The Green Party are concerned about efforts to introduce octopus farming to Aotearoa and supports prohibiting octopus farming before this harmful practice can be established.
Labour: Labour supports the development of a Code of Welfare for Farmed Fish. There is currently no commercial octopus farming in New Zealand, and Labour does not believe it is a practice that could be carried out humanely at scale. Labour would support measures to prevent it being established here.
National: No response.
NZ First: No response.
However, according to an RNZ article, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones described a potential animal welfare code for aquaculture as “anti-Kiwi” and an “indulgence”. The article went on to quote Jones saying that the outcry over octopus farming was “the height of this folly”.
New Zealand Outdoors & Freedom Party: FREEDOM is opposed to all activities that harm our precious environment and are cruel to animals. Octopus are sensitive creatures and deserve respect.
Opportunity Party: No response.
Te Pāti Māori: No response.
2. Imports that match our welfare standards
The question: Does your party support a restriction on imported animal products that don’t meet New Zealand’s animal welfare standards?
ACT: No response.
However, their response to the SPCA on this issue indicates they are opposed to legislation that restricts imports on animal welfare grounds.
Animal Justice Party: Yes. New Zealand should not allow products onto our shelves that are produced using practices we have already deemed too cruel here. While they may cost a few dollars less at the checkout, the real cost is far greater. Note; The Animal Justice Party includes the restriction of imported animal products that do not meet New Zealand’s domestic welfare standards in three of its core policy documents: Legislation and Regulation Reform for Animal Protection, Just Transition to a Plant-Based Economy, and Protecting the Rights of Farmed Animals.
Green Party: The Green Party supports ensuring that imported animal products meet the same animal welfare standards as animal products produced in Aotearoa. We are proud to have drafted and introduced the Animal Products (Closing the Welfare Gap) Amendment Bill to give the Minister the power to enforce our animal welfare standards on all animal products sold in Aotearoa – starting with eggs and pork.
Labour: Labour’s Free Trade Agreements with the UK and the EU included specific chapters on animal welfare that recognise animals as sentient beings and prohibit lowering welfare standards to secure trade advantages. Labour was proud to end the inhumane practice of live export of cattle by sea. We will continue our work to promote strong animal welfare standards as part of our trade policy and trade agreements.
National: No response. However, their response to the SPCA on this issue indicates they are opposed to legislation that restricts imports on animal welfare grounds in case NZ farmers are in return required to improve welfare practices by other countries.
NZ First: No response. However, their response to the SPCA on this issue indicates they are in favour in principle.
New Zealand Outdoors & Freedom Party: We agree with you in this matter – if we use animals as a food, there is NO reason to treat them badly. Animals should be treated as sentient beings that feel pain and emotions and should be allowed to live a cruelty-free life, even if they are being raised for food. All imported animal products should be held to the same or higher animal welfare standards as New Zealand animals.
Opportunity Party: No response. However, their response to the SPCA on this issue indicates they are in favour of addressing misleading import labelling and a lack of welfare standards labelling.
Te Pāti Māori: No response.
3. Cage-free farming for hens and mother pigs
The question: Does your party support phasing out the use of cage systems in farming?
ACT: No response. However, while in government, passed legislation to keep farrowing crates in use, overriding the High Court ruling.
A new Code of Welfare for Layer Hens is in review with limited consultation with animal welfare organisations. This Code, as drafted, will worsen welfare standards, intensifying crowding. Colony cages remain in place.
Animal Justice Party: Yes. Animals should not spend their lives confined in cages where they are unable to express their most basic natural behaviours. Phasing out cage systems is an important and necessary step, but it should not be the end point. Our long-term vision is a transition towards food systems that no longer depend on the farming and exploitation of animals.
Green Party: The Green Party supports phasing out colony cages, farrowing crates and other factory farming practices, and opposes the Government’s effort to overturn the High Court ruling and indefinitely extend the caging of mother pigs.
Labour: Labour supports improved welfare conditions for pigs. It was disappointing the National-led government progressed the Animal Welfare (Regulations for Management of Pigs) Amendment Bill without adequate consultation with animal welfare groups. Labour would take a different approach, one grounded in science and proper engagement with NAWAC, farmers, and animal welfare groups.
National: No response. However, while in government, passed legislation to keep farrowing crates in use, overriding the High Court ruling.
A new Code of Welfare for Layer Hens is in review with limited consultation with animal welfare organisations. This Code, as drafted, will worsen welfare standards, intensifying crowding. Colony cages remain in place.
NZ First: No response. However, while in government, they passed legislation to keep farrowing crates in use, overriding the High Court ruling.
A new Code of Welfare for Layer Hens is in review with limited consultation with animal welfare organisations. This Code, as drafted, will worsen welfare standards, intensifying crowding. Colony cages remain in place.
New Zealand Outdoors & Freedom Party: Yes, animals should be free to move and roam and perform their normal instincts and behaviours. Government’s job is to support farmers to ensure a high standard of animal welfare AND that food remains affordable.
Opportunity Party: No response. However, their response to the SPCA on this issue indicates they are in favour of phasing out both colony cages and farrowing crates.
Te Pāti Māori: No response.
4. Healthier chicken breeds, not unnaturally fast-growing ones
The question: Does your party support phasing out low welfare breeds of chicken raised for meat?
ACT: No response.
Animal Justice Party: Yes. Breeding animals to grow so quickly that many experience chronic pain, lameness and organ failure is unacceptable. We support stopping this as an immediate welfare improvement. Our long-term goal is to move towards food systems that no longer rely on animals suffering for human consumption. We should care about who is on our plate and make better decisions for our health, our environment and of course, animals.
Green Party: The Green Party supports phasing out the use of low-welfare breeds of chicken and prohibiting the breeding of other fast-growing chicken breeds. We support introducing stronger codes for farmed animals and phasing out factory farming practices.
Labour: Labour is aware of the concerns raised about fast-growing chicken breeds and the welfare outcomes associated with them. Labour supports fair welfare conditions for chickens in New Zealand.
National: No response.
NZ First: No response.
New Zealand Outdoors & Freedom Party: Short answer is Yes. The longer answer is that the cost of food will increase so Government needs to support the change over to make it cheaper and easier for farmers to do the right thing and use healthier breeds.
Opportunity Party: No response.
Te Pāti Māori: No response.
5. A better future for farmed animals
The question: What policies does your party commit to, to improve the lives of New Zealand’s farmed animals in the next term of Parliament?
ACT: No response.
Animal Justice Party: AJP proposes a dual-track strategy for the next parliamentary term: implementing immediate “interim” measures to alleviate the most severe suffering of farmed animals while simultaneously initiating a long-term transition to a wholly plant-based economy.
AJP is committed to strengthening the Animal Welfare Act so it reflects modern science and community expectations, closing the gap between recognising animals as sentient and how they are treated in practice. We support ending the most harmful farming practices, including intensive confinement systems, and ensuring welfare standards are based on what animals need to thrive, not simply what industries can accommodate.
Our current Codes of Welfare need reform. They contain both minimum standards and best practice guidance, with unclear wording that makes compliance and enforcement difficult. We believe best practice should become the standard, with clear, enforceable expectations that genuinely reflect animal welfare. We should also ask a more fundamental question: if animals were no longer treated as property, would we need so many rules trying to manage the harms that flow from that relationship?
We are also committed to supporting a fair, planned transition towards more humane and sustainable food systems. That includes working alongside farmers and rural communities so they are supported, not left behind, as New Zealand moves towards farming systems that don’t harm animals, people and the environment.
Preventing suffering is essential, but we believe good animal protection goes further than that. Animals are not simply objects that should suffer less, they are living, sentient beings with inherent worth. Their dignity should be respected, meaning we should always ask not only “Does this cause suffering?” but also “Does this respect the animal for who they are?”
Green Party: The Green Party’s priorities to improve the lives of farmed animals include:
· Creating a new Commissioner for Animals to independently monitor and advocate for the rights of animals, and an independent Ministry.
· Resourcing the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee to ensure all animal welfare codes genuinely comply with the Animal Welfare Act 1999, and introducing stronger codes for farmed animals.
· Phasing out harmful activities including debeaking of hens, intensive winter grazing, octopus farming, farrowing crates, and other factory farming practices.
· Introducing consistent, clear, and enforceable standards for manufacturing claims about animal welfare and ingredients.
· Retaining the ban on live exports of farmed animals by sea, and extending the ban to include live exports of farmed animals by air.
Labour: Labour values New Zealand’s reputation for high animal welfare standards. Labour recognises the Animal Welfare Act’s acknowledgement that animals are sentient and the requirement to attend properly to the welfare of those animals. Labour supports continued improvements to animal welfare in New Zealand.
National: No response.
NZ First: No response.
New Zealand Outdoors & Freedom Party: Many practises supported by this and previous governments condone cruel treatment of animals, such as 1080 poison which causes the deaths of countless deer, possums, dogs and birds (and rats too) in tortuous and inhumane pain. All animals, whether domestic or wild, should not have to undergo inhumane treatment and painful deaths. Industrial dairy farming can be shamefully brutal to cows and their calves and farmers should be supported to revert to smaller herds and more thoughtful care of their charges. Much of our farming practise could be reconfigured to be more compassionate and gentle and should be supported to do so. We are opposed to animal cruelty and would recommend stronger protection laws. Our flagship policy is Direct Democracy – this would allow organisations such as Animals Aotearoa to easily put forward “a strengthen animal protection law” to a binding referendum to allow the people to decide.
Opportunity Party: No response.
Te Pāti Māori: No response.
Authorised by Marianne Macdonald, PO Box 275, Nelson 7040