Good Animal Citizens: Phase 1 

The concept of "good animal citizenship" explores how pets can be integrated as positive members of society, ensuring their presence is positive for the community, other animals, and the environment. This idea stems from recognising companion animals not just as pets but as members of a shared community, with responsibilities placed on their guardians to uphold high standards of welfare and behaviour.

In New Zealand, where pet ownership is widely embraced, public acceptance—or the "social license"—of pet-keeping is influenced by issues such as animal welfare, public health and safety, environmental impact, and evolving regulations. Addressing these concerns is essential to maintaining the societal acceptability of pet ownership while promoting responsible guardianship.

Companion Animals NZ's exploratory project will investigate whether the concept of good animal citizenship can be used to sustain and improve public perceptions of pet ownership. Focusing initially on cats and dogs, the research aims to define good animal citizenship, explore its implications for animals, humans, and the environment, and determine effective ways to engage pet guardians. Insights will guide the development of tools, approaches, and messaging to encourage responsible guardianship while ensuring pets remain valued members of society.

This project is an important step toward fostering a sustainable, positive future for pet ownership in New Zealand.

Open to:

Anyone over 18 years old, regardless of whether you have pets.

Status:

This survey has now closed.

The results of this work will be made available on the CANZ website, and social media.

Share Your Experiences with Past Indoor Transitions with your cat

Companion Animals NZ is leading a pilot study to understand how moving cats to indoor-only living affects their behaviour and welfare, as well as how these changes are perceived by their guardians.

With more New Zealanders considering indoor housing for cats due to urban living, health requirements and environmental concerns, this research aims to provide practical insights into both the challenges and benefits of this transition.

While the first aspect of this is monitoring cat behaviour before and after the move indoors, using activity trackers and guardian surveys, we are now also gathering broader feedback from the public to capture diverse experiences from those people who have undertaken this transition indoors before.

Open to:

People who have ALREADY transitioned their cat indoors and have an experience they wish to share.

Status:

This survey has now closed.

Research Collaboration: decodING cat interactions and facial expressions

In an exciting joint project with Lyon College in Arkansas, USA, Dr. Britt Florkiewicz, undergraduate student researcher Levi Neal and Dr. Gosia Zobel (CANZ) are leading a study to delve into the mysterious world of cat facial expressions.  

This study seeks to explore whether New Zealanders can accurately predict the outcomes of interactions between cats by analysing their facial expressions, and to determine what factors—such as age, occupation, or previous experience with cats—affect their accuracy. 

WHO:

A joint project with Lyon College in Arkansas, USA, Dr. Britt Florkiewicz, undergraduate student researcher Levi Neal and Dr. Gosia Zobel (CANZ).

Open To:

Read the study debrief and the consent form here.

STATUS:

Survey closed - results will be released soon.

How horses express emotions

Join Our Global Study to improve knowledge about how horses express emotions. 

An international animal welfare science team including Companion Animals New Zealand’s Director of A Good Life for Animals, Prof Nat Waran,  is exploring how horses express their emotions in ANTICIPATION of different handling situations. Do they see these events as positive or negative? How intense are their feelings - calm, excited, or somewhere in between? How do horses express their emotional state? 

Your input matters! By spending just 25 minutes watching some short video clips, you can help provide valuable insights. These videos feature horses trained to anticipate four specific human interactions, each designed to evoke different emotional responses.

WHO:

In collaboration with the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU).

OPEN TO:

Anyone over 18 years old, regardless of your experience with horses.

STATUS:

Survey closed - results will be released soon.

outdoor access for owned cats

Companion Animals NZ (CANZ) is partnering with UC Davis (USA) to explore public views on outdoor access for cats, surveying both cat owners and non-cat owners in New Zealand. The research aims to compare these perspectives with a similar study conducted in California, providing insights into trends in cat housing and outdoor access. This collaboration will support CANZ’s mission to enhance animal welfare and help shape educational materials that promote responsible cat management.

This research is crucial as there may be increasing pressure on New Zealanders to keep cats indoors, which could impact cat welfare. By understanding how people currently house their cats and their views on the environmental impact of free-roaming cats, CANZ can offer better resources to support cat owners. The study also ties into broader concerns about wildlife conservation and cat predation, potentially having both welfare and environmental benefits.

Open to:

Anyone over 18 years old - cat owners and non-cat owners.

Status:

Survey closed - results will be released soon.

Public Opinion of Equestrian Sport

Companion Animals New Zealand is committed to promoting a Good Life for Animals. We invest in research and human behaviour change initiatives to improve our understanding of animal emotions to provide evidence based knowledge to pet owners and people responsible for animal welfare.

 To achieve this we collaborate with a number of international animal welfare research teams.

We inviting you to take part in a research study considering public opinion regarding the use of horses in sport.   

WHO:

This study is being conducted by Pamela Spisak, an MSc Equine Science student at The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh.  Pamela is co-supervised Professor Nat Waran, (the A Good Life for Animals Director for Companion Animals New NZ). The survey has been granted ethical approval from the Human Ethics Research Committee, R(D)SVS, University of Edinburgh.

 OPEN TO:

Public survey for anyone internationally.

STATUS:

Survey closed - results will be released soon.

Research Collaboration: Who let the cats in? Indoor cat study

Companion Animals New Zealand CANZ is conducting a study into how cats adjust to living indoors only, in a collaboration with the Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT) and University of Adelaide, Australia. 

Our research is aiming to understand more about how our feline companions (and their human guardians!) adapt to indoor living.  

Open to:

To be eligible to participate you must be: 

• Over 18 years old 

• Located in New Zealand 

• The caregiver of a cat which is at least 6 months old 

• Happy to: 

• Keep your cat indoors for three weeks of the study 

• Keep a diary of observations of cat behaviours for the full four-week period of the study 

STATUS:

Survey closed - results will be released soon.

Good Life survey

This survey is called “What does ‘a good life’ look like for companion animals in New Zealand?”.

We are seeking for insights specifically from animal guardians on our New Zealand Companion Animal Register. The goal of this survey is to better understand what pet owners know about ‘a good life’ for their animals, and what kind of additional information they could use. It also helps us target our webinars, articles and other web content.

WHO:

This is research was undertaken by A Good Life Centre team at Companion Animals NZ.

Status: Complete

Read the report here.