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Animal Welfare Amendment Bill

Animal Welfare Amendment Bill

Rahui Katene, MP for Te Tai Tonga

Thursday 18 February 2010; 5.50pm

As uri of Ngati Koata I have grown up in a tradition in which the concept of respecting and caring for animal life is second nature.

Our iwi are the Kaitiaki, the guardians, of the Tuatara of Takapourewa Island.  It is our humble duty and obligation to take every precaution necessary to care for and protect these incredible living fossils from harm.

So the concept of introducing legislation to prevent the wilful ill-treatment and neglect of animals is one which is consistent with my own tribal values and beliefs.

I hasten to suggest that the sacred status of tuatara is not the only example of an animal being revered and respected by tangata whenua. In another one of my tribal homes, Rangitoto ki te Tonga, otherwise known as D’urville Island, the spotted brown kiwi occupies a particular status.

In another aspect of the significance of the animal kingdom for Te Ao Maori, kaitiaki manifest in animal form continue as lived realities for whanau, hapu and iwi.  Such kaitiaki include the kiwi, kuri, ruru and tuatara. The tohora or paraoa (whale) also feature prominently as revered animals with hapu and iwi.
The practice of whaleriding, while popularised in the movie based on Witi Ihimaera’s novel, was a common theme in Maori oral histories. 

The Whale Rider retells the traditions around Paikea; but there are other notable whaleriders, including Te Tahi-o-te-Rangi, an ancestor of the Mataatua tribes, and Tünui, a tohunga of the Hawkes Bay who was seen riding his pet whale, Ruamano, on his way to Cape Kidnappers.

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Our history is rich with stories of the great affection that Maori had for animals, including pet kaka – native parrots; eels, shags, pigeons and moa.   Kuri – the humble dog – were known as great companions even back to the days of the explorer, Kupe.

In other stories, horses are described as extraordinary – some describing them as taniwha or supernatural creatures.   One chief from Tuhoe, Te Maitaranui, described these new beasts as “kuri waha tangata” – people carrying dogs.

For Ngati Porou there is a particularly strong association with what is commonly known as the Nati horses  - those versatile horses who travel over stony grounds, water or bush without faltering.

And of course with Ngati Tuwharetoa, the association with the wild Kaimanawa horses is so powerful that there has even been a claim lodged with the Waitangi Tribunal to prevent them from being culled.

Mr Speaker, I share some of these stories with the House as a way of setting the scene for the changes we are debating today, to the Animal Welfare Act, and in particular the drive to increase the penalties for offences involving wilful harm and reckless cruelty to animals.

Knowing our history helps to provide us with guidance about how to consider issues such as the welfare of animals.  

Which is why the Maori Party remains so concerned about the use of 1080 and its impact on possums.   How do we measure animal wellbeing?  Why is it that we allow pests to be treated differently than pets?

While the recent media portrayal of this type of offending has demonstrated just how horrifying some of these incidents have been, it is always useful to have a broader context from which to respond. 

And what the history of Maori experience with animals tells us is that ill treatment and neglect was not only unknown, but would be considered grossly inappropriate.

But there is another aspect about the wilful treatment of an animal which I feel duty bound to bring to the House; and that is the known association between animal cruelty and human violence.

In 2002, a Child, Youth and Family Services supervisor in Otara, Briar Humphrey, conducted a three month sabbatical project resulting in the paper, Child Welfare/ Animal Welfare – A Discussion Document.

In her project, Ms Humphrey explored aspects of the animal welfare sector’s relationship with child welfare in Auckland, in co-operation with the Auckland SPCA.

During the course of her study she spoke with animal welfare trainers, managers and frontline staff and concluded there was much that child protection social workers could learn from animal welfare professionals working in the same communities, and often in the same homes.
In her conclusions, Ms Humphrey suggested that child protection social workers should include in their assessments of abusive and neglectful families consideration of family pets.

The study demonstrates that the link between the treatment of pets and the children’s attachments to animals often spoke volumes about the children and the family. In essence, children and young persons who were violent and cruel to animals needed immediate help.

I think this is another really important dimension to the debate as it makes explicit that people convicted of violent crimes are often also predisposed to the cruel treatment of animals.  I think it is also worthy of comment to observe that there are successful models of child and animal welfare agency co-operation throughout the United States and the United Kingdom.

Coming back, more particularly then to this Bill, the Maori Party supports the provisions to enable a Court to disqualify a person from having custody of animals, and to order forfeiture of animals to the Crown or to an approved organisation, in the case of an offence being proven.

We need to be able to demonstrate that the threshold of acceptance of any form of violence reflects the serious attitude we have to ill treatment and neglect.

We must set the bar high, showing in our actions that we have no tolerance for violence or abuse of any kind.

As an electorate MP, I know only too well the horrific levels of violence amongst our communities. 

As a Maori woman, I know that it is our women who are substantially over-represented in Women’s Refuge statistics; it is our women who receive higher levels of medical treatment for abuse; and who experience more severe abuse than other groups of women.  
 In fact I have recently learnt that Maori women between 15 to 24 years of age are seven times more likely to be hospitalised as a result of an assault than Pakeha women.

This crisis of circumstance is one that must occupy all of our attention within the House, and I want to particularly acknowledge the work that my colleague, Tariana Turia, has been doing in the work with the Maori Reference Group on Family Violence. 

Their report on how to eliminate family violence within the whanau, E Tu Whanau Ora, is a wonderful resource that can help us to take actions to restore peace across our communities.

But our attitude to violence across the wider community, is also critical in stemming the tide, and this is why Bills as this one are so crucial. 

 The Animal Welfare Amendment Bill provides us with an opportunity to understand the links between cruelty to animals and other types of violence.   It establishes a threshold of behaviour which rejects the ill treatment and neglect of animal. 

And it creates a public standard which encourages us to act with compassion and with care, to respect all forms of life, including that of animals. 

For all these reasons we will support the Bill.

ends

 

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