Judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals

Making sure that animals are treated humanely is a job that the RSPCA has been doing since 1824.

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Speech to open the new RSPCA Animal Shelter in Wilmers Rd, Christchurch

It's a pleasure to be here to open this new facility. As Agriculture Minister I get a closer look than most politicians at the work of the RSPCA and its contribution to animal welfare.

It's a privilege to support the work of a group that is selfless and committed in defence of animals who have no way of advocating for themselves.

Avoiding cruelty and unnecessary suffering of animals is not a small job and nor is it one that diminishes with time. So it's not surprising that the old facilities here grew overcrowded, and five years ago, the long job of extending the shelter office buildings began.

I understand that it was the chairperson at the time, Ann Hulston, who first gave the idea serious thought. Then shelter manager Shaun Anderson and architect Yves Trussel began initial planning in 2003 − and both are here today, I understand.

As anyone who has remodelled their kitchen knows, renovations are expensive. This building is a three quarters of a million dollar investment, and there has been generous support to get it built.

The building fund was established with help from the Estate Brunel. Then a very generous legacy from the Estate of Marie Ashworth led to serious planning for the new building.

The Crawshaw Milligan trust − represented here today by Dr Tony and Margaret Lee − has paid for the Veterinary clinic and there have been contributions also from Pub Charity, Castle Trust, Scottwood Trust, Timaru Charitable Trust, the Trust Charitable Foundation, the New Zealand Community Trust and the Eureka Trust.

What this list shows is that this is a project that serves a wide community. It's no wonder that the more than a thousand members and supporters were able to raise over fifty thousand dollars.

But buildings are about much more than the bricks and mortar. They are, more than anything else, symbols of the services they represent and symbols of the people who work within them. So what we are really celebrating here today is much more than the building itself. We are paying tribute to the ceaseless job of making sure animals are treated humanely.

It's a job that the SPCA has been doing since 1824, and the urgency of this work doesn't diminish. I see a lot of farmers who work with animals, and I know there are few better advocates for good treatment of animals than the people whose livelihoods depend on them.

But I also know there are idiots everywhere.

I'll give you one example that has got me thinking about some serious gaps in animal law that I want New Zealand to think about.

Earlier this year a property owner had a problem with starlings attacking his crops and ruining them. If you've ever had starlings round, you know they can be a pest. It remains to be seen how far he went to reduce starling attacks before he decided to take extreme measures, but he decided to bring in an explosives expert. They went to the starlings' roost − and blew it up. The entire place went sky high. Predictably, it left thousands of injured and singed birds lying on the ground, suffering.

The problem is, because these were wild animals, there is no liability for cruel treatment.

That is unacceptable.

The problem exists because, when the animal welfare bill was passed, it excluded wild animals. There was sensible thinking behind this − no-one has direct responsibility for caring for a wild animal. They are, by definition, not owned. So making someone responsible in a particular case can lead to impractical legal liability. While none of us likes to think about animals suffering, you can't have the law requiring drivers to swerve off the road to avoid a possum.

We can't have senseless laws that make life in the outdoors a legal minefield. But there must be some way to react against moronic acts of cruelty like blowing up an entire bird roost.

So I would like to see some ideas about how to fix this sort of problem.
What this extreme example shows is that there is a never-ending job educating people.

I'm pleased this new building has an education room because spreading awareness and increasing understanding is the best way to change the public's attitude for the better.

And I understand a fulltime education officer is going to be employed here from next year. The more we can educate people, the less we will need enforcement. And, more importantly, it means we are intervening before animals are avoidably harmed.

All the education work we do is having an effect − New Zealanders are pretty good at animal welfare and we're getting international recognition for our standards.

Our international standing is demonstrated by the appointment of the President of the SPCA, Peter Mason, to the Executive Board of the World Society for the Protection of Animals. It has invited New Zealand to play a prominent role supporting the proposed United Nations Declaration for the Welfare of Animals.

And some of our officials have been recognised internationally, too. Barry O'Neil, the head of MAF Biosecurity, is President of the World Organisation for Animal Health. David Bayvel, Director of MAF's Animal Welfare Group, is chairing that organisation's Permanent International Animal Welfare Working Group. These appointments are a mark of the reputation New Zealand has in animal welfare matters.

The philosopher Immanuel Kant said "He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals."

And I'm sure that's true. If we have a compassionate approach to animals, we can be compassionate to people. So everything this organisation does, and everything this new building represents, helps to make our society better, not only for animals, but for all of us, too.

The Committee, Life members, Society membership and supporters, Charitable trusts, shelter manager and staff, are to be congratulated for making this striking new building a reality.

And I have much pleasure declaring the building open.