National Animal Welfare Committee (NAWAC)

The National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC) is a ministerial advisory committee established under the Animal Welfare Act 1999.

The Committee’s main function is to advise the Minister of Agriculture on animal welfare matters relating to farm, companion, wild and pest animals. It has a number of other functions, including providing advice on the content of codes of welfare specifying minimum standards for animal treatment and recommendations for best practice.

The Committee is progressively reviewing existing voluntary codes of recommendation and minimum standards which will be replaced by codes of welfare. The minimum standards in codes of welfare can be used to support a prosecution under the Animal Welfare Act, or conversely, can be used as a defence to prosecution.

NAWAC publishes a newsletter describing its activities and an annual report each year.

For more information on NAWAC’s principles and the procedures by which it operates, or its recommendations on specific activities, such as humane practices for hunting, fishing or vertebrate pest control, see the NAWAC guidelines.

Functions

The National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC) has a number of functions, as set out in Section 57 of the Animal Welfare Act. These include:

  • advising the Minister of Agriculture on any matter relating to the welfare of animals in New Zealand, involving
    • areas where research into the welfare of animals is required
    • legislative proposals concerning the welfare of animals
  • making recommendations to the Minister on
    • declaring procedures not to be manipulations
    • declaring procedures to be significant surgical procedures and classifying surgical procedures as prohibited or restricted
    • declaring traps or devices to be prohibited or restricted and any conditions on the sale or use of restricted traps
    • the issue, amendment, suspension, revocation or review of codes of welfare
    • promoting and assisting others to promote, the development of guidelines for the use of traps or devices, and the hunting or killing of animals in a wild state.

Membership

Members of the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee are nominated by organisations but chosen on the basis of their expertise. They do not represent the nominating organisation on the committee.

The Committee's membership is as follows:

  • Mrs Margaret (Peggy) A Burrows JP MA (Hons), BEd, Dip Tchg, TTC, Secondary School Principal (nominated by the Ministry of Women's Affairs)
  • Mr Hilton E Collier BAgSc. farm business consultant (nominated by Te Puni Kokiri)
  • Dr Philip E Cowan, BSc (Hons), PhD, Science Leader Pest Control Technologies, Landcare Research NZ Ltd (nominated by Landcare Research NZ Ltd)
  • Mr John R Martin QSO, MA (Hons), (chairperson of the National Animal Ethics Advisory Committee)
  • Mr Donald O Nicolson Farmer, National Vice President Federated Farmers (nominated by Federated Farmers of New Zealand)
  • Dr Peter J O'Hara BVSc (Hons) PhD, Retired Veterinarian (independent chairperson)
  • Dr Karen M Phillips BVSc MACVSc, veterinarian (nominated by the New Zealand Veterinary Association)
  • Mrs Jenifer M Prattley Royal New Zealand Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals National Vice President (nominated by the RNZSPCA)
  • Dr Roger A Poland BSc (Hon) DVM, Senior Adviser Animal Welfare, MAF Biosecurity New Zealand (Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry nominee ex officio)
  • Professor Bruce J Ross M Ag Sc, agricultural economist, Professor Emeritus Lincoln University, (independent appointment)
  • Dr Gwyneth A Verkerk BVSc, DPhil, MACVSc, veterinarian and welfare scientist (nominated by the New Zealand Society of Animal Production)

Page last updated: 6 November 2008