SPCA is proud to celebrate a major milestone in animal welfare advocacy – an announcement that new regulations to address prolonged tethering of dogs will be released later this year. The prolonged tethering of dogs is an issue that our inspectors deal with daily. While it is difficult to gather accurate numbers, it is safe to say this issue impacts the lives of thousands of dogs in New Zealand.

“This is a long-fought and hard-won victory for dogs across Aotearoa, with the introduction of a new regulation targeting prolonged tethering,” says Dr Alison Vaughan, SPCA’s Scientific Officer.

“These new regulations are the outcome of years of hard work by SPCA’s advocacy function and are only possible because of the support of tens of thousands of New Zealanders. It shows that with persistence and public backing, we can make meaningful changes to protect animals.”

This change is a direct outcome of SPCA’s ‘Break the Chain’ campaign, which saw over 20,000 people take action in 2022, and more than 15,000 co-signing a letter to the Minister in 2023 to demand better protections for chained dogs. SPCA was also proud to support a successful parliamentary petition by Chained Dog Awareness Trust.

These new regulations, once they are released, will give Animal Welfare Inspectors an enforcement tool to better protect dogs subjected to harmful, prolonged tethering. For the first time, there will be a clear, enforceable standard, allowing intervention where dogs are suffering physically, emotionally, or are kept in unsafe conditions due to the way they are tethered.

Once the regulations are released, there will be an education period where SPCA and MPI will work to help owners understand and comply with the new rules.

“We know these changes won’t solve every case overnight, but it’s a step forward, and one that will permit our Inspectors to act in situations where they couldn’t before. It also sends a loud message that long-term chaining of dogs is not acceptable in our society.”

“They will give inspectorate officers a new tool, one that could have allowed us to step in sooner, and potentially prevent suffering before it escalated.”

SPCA extends it’s a huge thank you to everyone who helped bring about this change:

• The more than 20,000 people who supported the 2022 ‘Break the Chain’ campaign
• The 15,000+ who signed our 2023 ‘Demand the Change’ letter
• Everyone who made submissions during MPI’s public consultation process
• Organisations like Chained Dog Awareness Trust and HUHA, whose work on this issue has been invaluable
• Minister Hoggard, whose support helped get these regulations across the line

This regulation is an important addition to the enforcement landscape, fitting between the Animal Welfare Act and the Code of Welfare, and will enable more effective, practical action to prevent suffering.

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