Different species have different body temperatures and different heat tolerances. It’s important to know what these are, and how to ensure that your pet doesn’t experience temperatures that it cannot cope with.
A Christmas message from the teams at Companion Animals NZ
The Companion Animals New Zealand and the NZ Companion Animals Register Team wish you and your companion animal(s) a wonderful, safe and fun festive season
We are almost at the end of 2023 - a year of significant challenge and change for animal guardians and their animals in New Zealand.
The impact of both La Niña and climate change, resulted in the extreme and devastating weather events experienced by so many in New Zealand which demonstrated for all of us, the importance of emergency planning and for these to include how we safeguard our animals. Companion Animals New Zealand and the NZ Companion Animal Register Team mobilised quickly to provide information from our microchip database that was needed by the coordinated emergency rescue services to help identify animals and try to reunite them with their worried owners as soon as was possible. Following the immediate national emergency, we mounted a campaign to support the permanent identification and registration of horses and ponies in New Zealand, to improve the chances of them being quickly and easily identified and traced to their owners. In 2024, we plan to extend the EQuiChip™ Community Events run successfully in Hawkes Bay and Wairarapa to other equestrian communities across the country. If you want to learn more about how to run an event, please get in touch with us, and we will provide a Campaign Guide and our support.
Making it easier for owners to find their lost pets is also why we actively promote the need for all companion species to be microchipped and registered and why we have recently completed the work to merge our LostPet Service with the NZCAR microchip database to create a “super-site” for lost and found animals. This means that if sadly you do lose your pet, you can mark your animal as lost on the NZCAR, then you will also create a free and immediate LostPet listing, that you can share across social media. Guardians who lose a pet that is not yet microchipped or registered, can still create free LostPet listings for their animals. We are proud that as a well-respected animal charity we offer incredible value. The $15 registration fee is a ‘one-off‘ charge covering the lifetime registration of an animal, with the funds used to support animal welfare causes, as well as the development of research and education programmes to improve animal lives in New Zealand.
Apart from managing the NZCAR, Companion Animals New Zealand is actively involved with improving standards of care and training of dogs, cats, horses and other pets through our NZ Accreditation Scheme for Animal trainers and behaviour counsellors. The scheme allows animal owners to select an animal behaviorist or trainer that uses only ethical, humane, positive training and behaviour modification methods, ensuring high standards of welfare. This year we welcomed a good number of new animal behaviourists and trainers to become members of our accreditation scheme. You can find the current list here: See https://www.companionanimals.nz/canz-accredited-ats-atis
Despite all of the challenges of 2023, we are also extremely pleased to have been able to continue with our plans to bring our vision of a Good Life for Animals to life through the creation of a new virtual collaborative Research and Education Centre. The Centre aims to help ‘raise the bar’ for companion animals by proactively promoting the importance of higher standards of welfare, animals experiencing mainly positive emotional states and ensuring that animal guardians have the most up to date sicnece based information about how to provide ‘A Good Life’ for the many different species of pets we enjoy. The ‘A Good Life for Animals Centre’ under the direction of former CANZ Board Chair, Professor Nat Waran, will be formally launched at the Companion Animal Conference in Hamilton in March 2024.
In addition to promoting positive welfare, we also gather information to help inform ourselves and other animal industries about the changing nature of pet ownership. These regular surveys tell us about attitudes towards desexing, microchipping and reasons for acquiring an animal. This year, we have noticed a slowdown in the number of animals being adopted from centres (especially dogs) which appears similar to what is happening internationally. Prior to and during lockdown the numbers of pets being adopted from shelters or purchased through breeders/websites seemed to increase – but we are now seeing a downturn that may be a rebound but is also likely linked with changing socio-economic factors.
So, when you are thinking about your New Year resolutions – we encourage you to think of your pets and their wellbeing.
1. Consider the best way to adopt an animal and try to support animal shelters or ethical breeders.
2. Make sure your companion has permanent, registered identification and that your contact details are always kept up to date. Obviously as the country’s largest pet Database – we recommend that you have all of the microchips of you pets – dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, horses, donkeys in one place, on your NZCAR account. We have learned from the events of 2023 that we can’t afford not to have our animals permanently identifiable and traceable back to us.
3. And finally – Your life is better for the animals you have in it – so it’s worth considering what you can do to make their lives rewarding and happy. Often in our busy lives, we forget that the quality of their life experience is completely dependent upon us being well informed about their species specific behavioural, social, mental and physical needs. Companion Animals New Zealand’s Facebook site aims to provide quality information and you can of course learn more by attending the CANZ ‘Changing Lives for Companion Animals’ Conference on March 12th 2024 in Hamilton – See https://www.companionanimals.nz/conference
Have a great festive break and we look forward to working with you all in an exciting 2024.
Warmest wishes
Nat, David and Sarah
And the rest of the CANZ Board Members, CANZ Staff and of course the CANZ Animal Team!
See our Christmas message video on the link below.
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1442476359955560
The Secret Life of Animals
Covid, A Cyclone and Clowders of Kittens!
CANZ Welfare Director Advocates for a Good Life for all Horses involved in sport and leisure
New Zealand’s top pet names – Luna on top again for 2023
Companion Animals In A Changing World Conference 2024
Designer Crossbreeds: A Beautiful Outcome Or Risky Practice?
Figures from Dogs NZ show that the number of registered breeders have risen, and the demand for pet dogs, specifically those that are cross bred, have been on the rise as well. With more people finding time to add a new pup to their family, popular crossbred combinations include labradoodles, puggles, and goldendoodles, to name just a few. To find out why they’re so popular and learn about the potential health risks involved, here’s what you need to know if you wish to attain your very own designer dog.
NEW ZEALANDERS SUPPORT A NATIONAL CAT MANAGEMENT STRATEGY
According to the lasted Companion Animal Report[1] produced by the New Zealand Companion Animal Council there are currently an estimated 1.134 million companion cats in New Zealand, making them the most popular companion animal in New Zealand, and with predation of wildlife by cats being a contentious issue, national cat management legislation is currently being considered.
OVERWEIGHT DOGS ARE MORE LIKELY TO DISPLAY UNDESIRABLE BEHAVIOURS
Can Eye-Tracking Tecnhology Improve Canine Adoption?
Behaviour has long been regarded an important influencer in the adoptability of dogs, especially in shelter environments. Less emphasis, however, has been given to the human element and our tendency to attribute different personality and behavioural traits to dogs based on their appearance, and the influence this might have on how adoptable we perceive a dog to be.
HOW CLIENT BEHAVIOUR CONTRIBUTES TO VETERINARY STRESS AND BURNOUT
Life as a practising veterinarian can be a demanding one, with high workloads, client complaints[1] and other client-related factors, including economic limitations, unrealistic expectations and lack of compliance at the top of the list when it comes to workplace stressors[2,3]. On top of which, by virtue of their profession, veterinarians often interact with distressed clients or those experiencing caregiver burden (strain from caring for an ill loved one[4]), which can result in a transfer of burden from client to veterinarian[5].
WHY YOU SHOULDN’T RELY ON FACEBOOK TO FIND YOUR LOST PET
WHY YOU SHOULDN’T RELY ON FACEBOOK TO FIND YOUR LOST PET
The manager of the charity that runs New Zealand’s microchip database for pets is reminding pet owners that social media should be one of the last steps in the search for a lost pet.
On October 25th, Companion Animals New Zealand, merged it’s two pet services - the NZ Companion Animal Register (NZCAR) and LostPet.co.nz to create a “super site” for lost and found animals.
General Manager, David Lloyd, says the newly amalgamated site should be the first place people go if they have lost or found a pet.
“We have combined our free lost and found website with our microchip database of 1.2million microchipped animals.” says Lloyd.
“Many pet guardians have experienced that horrible feeling of having an animal go missing, and not knowing where to start. Now, our super site means guardians have a clear course of action to take.”
In New Zealand, microchipped animals are likely to be found and then scanned at any one of 900+ vet clinics, SPCAs or animal shelters, so Lloyd says it is important to check your details on the NZCAR are correct as quickly as possible.
“Because of the merger, people can also check our free ‘found’ listings at the same time. Every found animal that is taken to the SPCA will automatically get a LostPet listing on our site, so if your pet is not microchipped, or not registered, then the super site is still the best place to come.”
Performing a thorough physical search is an important second step, remembering that cats will usually be within a few houses of home and can be excellent hiders, especially if they are scared or injured.
If you still need to create a lost pet listing, then it is free to do so, whether your pet is microchipped or not, and then, finally, from there you can share your post to Facebook.
“Social media definitely has it’s place in lost and found pet reunions, and there are many well-managed pages in New Zealand” says Lloyd. “But Facebook curates content so not everyone will see your post, and your post will be pushed down the page as new lost animals are listed.”
Companion Animals NZ recommend posting to the NZCAR/LostPet site first and sharing from there, so guardians only need to manage their listing in one place. Listings are live for four weeks but can be renewed indefinitely.
“Ideally pet guardians would be proactive and get their pet microchipped before they go missing, and they should ensure that they are registered on the NZCAR.” Lloyd says the registration step is sometimes missed – as is often done by the vet clinic who implant the chip, but sometimes it is left for pet guardians to do themselves. It is also important to remember that NZCAR registration is different from council registration for dogs.
Lastly, Lloyd says to not give up hope. “We have dozens of stories of happy reunions after pets and people have been separated by large distance and many months”.
The NZ Companion Animal Register was launched in 2007 and now has registered 1,250,000 animals, including 700,000 cats, 530,000 dogs, 10,000 rabbits, and 700 horses. All animals adopted from the SPCA are registered on the NZCAR automatically at adoption time. Funds from the register are used to support desexing campaigns and for other animal welfare projects.
LostPet.co.nz, formerly knows as Pets on The Net, was established in 2002 and became a Companion Animals NZ service in 2017.
Companion Animals New Zealand provide a 24-hour support service for lost and found pets at www.animalregister.co.nz or on freephone 0508 LOSTPET (567 873).
Contact information:
David Lloyd
General Manager
Companion Animals New Zealand david@companionanimals.nz
PROFESSOR NAT WARAN APPOINTED AS DIRECTOR OF THE NEW ‘GOOD LIFE FOR ANIMALS’ CENTRE
Companion Animals New Zealand is pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Nat Waran as the inaugural Director of an exciting initiative aimed at advancing the wellbeing of companion animals in New Zealand.
The virtual Centre will drive initiatives aimed at changing human behaviour which in turn will advance the wellbeing of companion animals in Aotearoa.
By investing in research, education and advocacy programmes, Professor Waran says it will be possible to help address knowledge gaps and barriers so that we can better support the overall objective of ensuring a Good Life for Animals.
Companion Animals New Zealand is a Charitable Trust aimed at advancing the understanding, quality and adoption of responsible companion animal guardianship in New Zealand.
Waran says she feels extremely fortunate to have been involved with Companion Animals New Zealand since joining the Board in 2019, and to have been the Chair since 2020.
“The Board’s strategic decision to invest in the creation and transfer of evidence-based knowledge to enhance the quality of life for companion animals, marks a significant step for the organisation. I am honoured to have been given the opportunity to head up the development of the new centre, and to have the support of the Board to ensure that all companion animals live a good life.’
She notes the importance of developing a collaborative approach and having strong stakeholder engagement with universities, national and international NGOs and government departments.
Professor Waran is an internationally respected applied animal welfare scientist and educator with expertise in applied research, and the design and delivery of evidence-based education initiatives. She has more than 30 years of experience working as a strategic leader at senior level in the tertiary sector in NZ and overseas.
Prior to returning to New Zealand in 2016 she was the inaugural Director of the Jeanne Marchig International Animal Welfare Centre established at the University of Edinburgh’s veterinary school, where she collaborated with various organisations to advance animal welfare in developing countries.
