Animal welfare and pest control

Pest management
Animal welfare is an
increasingly important
consideration for those involved
in pest management work.
Photo: Environment Canterbury

A laboratory rat and a wild rat differ only in their environment. Few would quibble about the need to protect the welfare of laboratory animals, although not much thought is usually given to the welfare of rats targeted as pests. Similarly, dogs are viewed variously in different parts of the world as treasured companions, as food, or as pests.

'Animal welfare' and 'pest control', however, are terms increasingly seen together in the same sentence, and welfare is becoming increasingly important for those involved in pest control work.

The relationship between animal welfare and pest control is being given more serious consideration from many quarters, as evidenced by:

  • attention from the OIE (World Organisation for Animal Health)
  • a growing body of scientific literature
  • inclusion of pest control in various animal welfare strategies (e.g., the Australian Animal Welfare Strategy)
  • further coverage in legislation (e.g., that covering hunting with dogs in England and Wales)
  • increasing attention by animal welfare NGOs (e.g., the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW) Rodent Control Workshop)
  • greater attention in conferences and seminars (e.g., RSPCA Australia's 2003 Scientific Seminar on Humane Vertebrate Pest Control, the 2003 UFAW Seminar 'Science in the Service of Animal Welfare', the third International Wildlife Management Congress in 2003 and this year's sixth European Vertebrate Pest Management Conference).

So what is New Zealand doing about welfare and pest control? The animal welfare impacts are managed mainly through legislation and through best practice guidance.

Legislation

The Animal Welfare Act 1999 (administered by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry) and the Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines Act 1997 (administered by the New Zealand Food Safety Authority) are the main laws that directly manage risks to the welfare of pests in New Zealand. Other laws have an indirect impact on pest animal welfare, including the Wild Animal Control Act 1977, the Wildlife Act 1953 and the Biosecurity Act 1993.

The Animal Welfare Act regulates the use of traps in two ways:

  • by requiring that capture traps (e.g., leghold traps) be checked within 12 hours of sunrise every day that they remain set, beginning on the day after which they were first set (effectively meaning that they must be checked at least once every 24 hours); and
  • by allowing regulations to be made to restrict or prohibit the sale or use of a trap or 'device' (i.e., an electronic or electrical device with the same function as a trap).

There are currently no national regulations prohibiting the use of any traps, although local bylaws in some areas limit the use of 'gin' traps (toothed leghold traps) and other types of hard-jaw traps. New regulations to replace bylaws are expected to be in force by the end of 2007, when the bylaws expire.

The Animal Welfare Act also allows for the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC) to encourage the development of guidelines on the use of traps or devices and hunting and killing of wild animals. There is a NAWAC guideline for assessing the animal welfare impacts of killing traps and restraint traps, with a growing number of traps being assessed against this guideline. Also, NAWAC is currently considering whether it sees a need for further guidelines on hunting and fishing.

One of the purposes of the Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines Act is to prevent or manage risks to animal welfare. Vertebrate pesticides ('vertebrate toxic agents') fall under this Act. The risks to animal welfare are managed through conditions put on the manufacture, sale and use of these compounds. The labels on these compounds contain important information intended to limit risks to animal welfare, particularly those to non-target animals (i.e., animals that aren't the intended 'target' of the poison).

Best practice guidance

Several organisations involved in pest control, or in wider 'wildlife management', hunting and fishing, have developed their own guidelines for ethical and humane practices. Some of these include the Pest Management Association of New Zealand, the Department of Conservation, the New Zealand Bowhunters Society, Fish and Game New Zealand, and the New Zealand Deerstalkers Association.

People interested in humane pest control and wildlife management should take special note of product labels and seek advice on best practice from relevant experts before undertaking pest control work.

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Page last updated: 30 April 2008