The Animal Welfare Act 1999 provides for offences and penalties for serious animal abuse or neglect.

In May 2015 the government amended the Animal Welfare Act enabling regulations to be made on matters such as animal care and procedures performed on animals.

The Animal Welfare (Care and Procedures) Regulations 2018 are the latest set of regulations to be issued; they were issued in March 2018. Most of these regulations will come into force in October this year. Examples include the prohibition of the use of traction in calving cows and the requirement to ensure that dogs transported on an open deck or trailer of a moving motor vehicle are secured to prevent the dog falling off or hanging off.

It's important you and staff are aware of the new scope of these regulations. Each regulation has an associated penalty. The penalty range is between $300–$25,000 and, for more serious matters, can result in a criminal conviction.

Full details of the regulations can be found here.

How is access granted?

Our ability to access the 'great outdoors' in New Zealand is seen as something of a citizen's right. At times, however, It does conflict with the rights of private landowners when, in order to access the great outdoors, there is a need to cross their private land first. Read more…

Who is liable for an outbreak of plant disease?

Biosecurity issues never seem to be far from the news these days. The Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) is responsible for biosecurity in New Zealand and gets its powers in relation to biosecurity under the Biosecurity Act 1993. The purpose of the biosecurity system that the Act puts in place is to prevent or manage risks from harmful organisms such as pests and diseases. It does this by attempting to stop pests and diseases before they arrive in the country and, if they do, by trying to either eradicate or manage them.  Read more…

New Zealand's highest court, the Supreme Court, recently issued a judgement in relation to a family farming company that should signal to equity farmers the importance of shareholder agreements in determining disputes and in particular ending relationships efficiently. Read more…

The Primary Production Select Committee is considering the Farm Debt Mediation Bill. The Bill proposes to introduce agricultural debt mediation as a mandatory step before the appointment of a receiver in respect of agricultural debt.
Consultation has now closed for the Zero Carbon Bill. If enacted the Zero Carbon Bill will put a 2050 target in place to reduce emissions. We will keep you updated on the progress of these Bills.

Previously we have pointed out some aspects of rights of way and water easements, and the rights attached to them.

Expanding on this topic, we discuss another feature of easements that is important and, in many cases, is not properly understood – the permanence of an easement and issues that might arise from that over time. Virtually all easements are granted 'in perpetuity' which means they last forever.

When granting an easement over your property, or you're purchasing a property that is subject to easements, you need to consider not only the situation as it is now but also potential issues that might arise over time. Read more…