Animal Ethics
St Joseph's School complies with the Animal Welfare Act 1999 when considering the use of animals in our teaching and learning. As required, we attend to the welfare of any animals kept at our school and ensure they have:
- suitable and adequate food and water
- shelter
- appropriate handling
- the opportunity to behave normally
- protection from injury and disease.
We ensure that the benefits of using animals in teaching and learning are not outweighed by likely harm to animals. For certain activities involving animals, we seek 
ethics approval as appropriate.
The Animal Welfare Act 1999 is intended to prevent ill-treatment or neglect of animals. It sets out requirements for people who are in charge of animals and controls the use of animals in research, testing, and teaching (Part 6). Under the Act, certain activities require ethical approval. Note that "animal" includes any live member of the animal kingdom, and certain animals in gestational (pre-birth) development (s. 2).
The New Zealand Schools' Animal Ethics Committee (part of the New Zealand Association of Science Educators) has established an ethical code of conduct, which schools must follow to meet their legal requirements for the management of animals in their care.
The New Zealand Schools' Animal Ethic Committee provides resources for determining whether ethical approval is required, and is the body that considers applications. It receives applications from teachers, and also from individual students for specific investigations, science fairs, etc.
Most activities involving animals at school do not require ethical approval (e.g. having a classroom pet, bringing pets in for a visit, or simple observation of an animal).
When necessary, we seek a permit from the Department of Conservation to keep wildlife, including lizards.
Legislation
- Animal Welfare Act 1999
- Wildlife Act 1953
Resources
: Term 1 2023, Term 4 2019
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