Member consultation
The NZVA Te Pae Kīrehe is your voice. It's important that NZVA members provide feedback on our positioning to ensure our position statements align with your views.
We encourage you to engage with each consultation and provide feedback.
The Sheep and Beef Cattle Veterinarians Branch of the NZVA is seeking feedback on current pain relief prescribing practices for lambs, particularly for castration and tail docking.
Pain relief for these procedures is an area of increasing focus from industry bodies, processors, animal welfare groups, and the public. At the same time, veterinarians have professional obligations to consider the safety, efficacy, and compliance aspects of any medication before prescribing it. In some cases, this professional judgement may lead to a decision that a product is unsuitable for a particular situation.
There is also active discussion at both national and international levels about standards and expectations for pain relief use in sheep, including the role of veterinarians in assessing suitability rather than simply availability. To ensure that any NZVA position or guidance reflects the reality of on-farm practice, it is essential to have current, representative data from veterinarians working with sheep.
This survey aims to:
- understand current prescribing patterns for pain relief in lambs undergoing castration and tail docking
- identify the products most commonly used, preferred methods, and timing of administration
- capture experiences with training, client communication, and adverse events
- gauge members’ views on the suitability and safety of currently available products
- identify research gaps and priorities for the future.
Survey responses will be collated and analysed by the NZVA Sheep and Beef Cattle Veterinarians Committee. Findings will inform the NZVA’s policy discussions, position statements, and advocacy with industry and regulators. Individual responses will remain confidential, and results will only be reported in aggregated form.
Estimated time to complete: 10–12 minutes
Thank you for taking the time to contribute your expertise—your input is essential to ensuring NZVA positions are evidence-based, practical, and supportive of veterinarians in the field.
The Petitions Committee has invited the NZVA to make a submission on three petitions relating to the public sale and use of fireworks. These petitions raise issues around animal welfare, public safety, environmental impacts, and cultural or community enjoyment.
To ensure our submission reflects the full range of views held by our members, we are inviting you to share your perspective on fireworks regulation and on our current position statement. Your responses will directly inform the NZVA submission.
The survey should take around 5–10 minutes to complete. Responses are confidential and will only be used to guide NZVA’s submission.
Please complete the survey by 10am on Monday 29 September 2025.
Key documents
Introduction
The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) is seeking feedback on proposed regulations to manage the risk of high pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 in New Zealand poultry. These proposals are focused on commercial poultry and egg producers, though some requirements could extend to semi-commercial and non-commercial poultry owners.
HPAI H5N1 is not currently in New Zealand but has spread widely overseas and has recently been detected in sub-Antarctic regions. If it arrives here, it would likely become established in wild birds and pose ongoing risks to poultry, food supply, animal welfare, trade, and potentially other species. MPI’s proposals aim to strengthen biosecurity standards, record-keeping, auditing, and compliance tools so that the poultry industry, supported by government, is better prepared to manage the disease.
As the voice of the veterinary profession in Aotearoa New Zealand, the NZVA will be making a submission to MPI. Your input is essential to ensure that our submission reflects the experience, concerns, and insights of members across all practice types, not only those directly involved in poultry.
If you would like to provide feedback directly to MPI in addition to the NZVA submission, you can complete the survey on MPI's website.
This survey should take around 10-15 minutes to complete. Please share your views by Friday 24 October so that we can incorporate your feedback into NZVA’s submission.
Key submission documents
> Discussion Document Proposed regulations for managing high pathogenicity avian influenza H5N1 in poultry
> Discussion document summary: Proposed regulations for managing high pathogenicity avian influenza H5N1 in poultry
> Interim regulatory impact statement: Managing high pathogenicity avian influenza H5N1 in poultry
