Rural And Urban New Zealand Aligned: 8 In 10 Farmers And Public Want Welfare Standards Applied To Imports

In an alignment between farmers and the wider public, nearly 80% of New Zealand farmers want imported animal products to meet New Zealand's welfare standards - mirroring consistent public polling that has shown the same level of support for years.

New Curia Market Research polling commissioned by Animal Policy International, released today, finds 79% of farmers agree. Just 10% disagree. The same proportion (78%) say political parties should commit to ensuring it happens.

A cross-spectrum consensus

Independent polling has now shown majority support in 2023, 2024 and 2026 - across the public, across farmers, and across every party's voter base. A Horizon Research poll found support was over 80% from the public. And support was strong among voters of every parliamentary party, ranging from 79% of National voters to 82% of NZ First voters, with Labour voters at 87%.

Key findings:

Of 1,000 farmers surveyed in April 2026:

• 79% agree imported animal products should be required to meet New Zealand's animal welfare standards (10% disagree)
• 78% agree it is important that New Zealand farmers are not undercut by imports produced to lower welfare standards (11% disagree)
• 78% agree political parties should commit to ensuring imported animal products meet New Zealand's animal welfare standards (10% disagree)

This is one of the few policy areas where urban consumers, rural producers and voters across the political spectrum are aligned. Despite the consistent public mandate, the gap between domestic and import standards remains unaddressed in current government policy.

The policy gap

New Zealand has set its domestic animal welfare standards through democratic process - sow stalls and battery cages have been banned or restricted. However, products from systems banned domestically continue to be imported and sold here. Around 60% of pork imports come from countries that allow sow stalls, banned in New Zealand since 2016. Over half of liquid egg imports in 2023 came from Australia and China, where battery cages remain legal; New Zealand's ban came into force the same year.

The Government's Product Labelling review, due to report in June, addresses country-of-origin labelling but not the underlying standards gap. A member's bill - the Animal Products (Closing the Welfare Gap) Amendment Bill - sits in the biscuit tin awaiting selection.

Independent legal analysis has found requiring imports to meet domestic welfare standards is compatible with WTO rules and New Zealand's free trade agreements. Independent economic modelling estimates potential growth in the domestic pork sector of $17.2 to $29 million annually. Retaliation risk from trading partners is assessed as low.

Election test

Rainer Kravets, Co-Executive Director of Animal Policy International, said the polling raised the stakes for parties heading into the election: "Reflecting domestic welfare standards at the border is a logical step, supported by the people who produce and the people who buy. New Zealand farmers carry the cost of meeting our standards.

Heading into election season, every party will say they back Kiwi farmers and listen to New Zealanders. This is one of the clearest tests of that commitment."

Walt Cavendish, of Farming With Walt, said farmers had spoken clearly: “If it’s sold in New Zealand, it should meet New Zealand standards. This is about fairness. Our farmers are being asked to meet some of the highest animal welfare standards in the world and they’re proud to do it. But they should not be undercut by imports produced to lower standards. Now it’s up to political parties to listen and commit to a level playing field.”

Marie McAninch, Senior Scientific Officer (Farmed Animals) at SPCA New Zealand said “New Zealand farmers have always taken pride in caring for their animals, and this polling simply reflects that commitment. It’s no surprise to us that farmers want a level playing field where their efforts are respected. As parties shape their policies this election year, it’s clear that supporting animal welfare is something both farmers and the wider public can agree on.”

About Animal Policy International. Animal Policy International is a New Zealand NGO working on trade and farmed animal welfare policy. It works with NGOs, policymakers and industry to ensure animal welfare standards set domestically are also reflected in imported products. More at animalpolicyinternational.org.

Poll

• The poll was commissioned by Animal Policy International and conducted by Curia Market Research between 7 and 19 April 2026. Sample size: 1,000 New Zealand farmers, drawn from a random selection of 12,000 phone numbers in rural areas and from an online panel of respondents whose occupation was farming. Maximum sampling error +/- 3.1% at the 95% confidence level. Results are unweighted, as no public authoritative data exists on the demographic composition of the New Zealand farming population. Respondents were asked their level of agreement (1 strongly disagree to 5 strongly agree) with three statements concerning the principle of welfare standards being applied to imports, fair competition for New Zealand farmers, and political party commitments. Full results available on request.
• Public polling - Horizon Research polling commissioned by Animal Policy International in 2024 and 2023 found that over 80% of New Zealanders agree imported products should respect the same animal welfare standards as those applied in New Zealand. The 2023 Horizon poll found agreement across all 2020 Party Vote groups, ranging from 78% (National) to 92% (NZ First).

Key facts:

• Current import statistics: According to latest statistics from NZ Pork, the share of imports of New Zealand pork consumption in 2024-2025 was 63.3%, which has increased from 61.9% in 2023-2024 and 60.4% in 2022-2023. (Source: NZPork Annual Reports)
• In 2023 (latest stats from Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)) the primary countries exporting pork to New Zealand were the US, Canada, Spain and Germany. The total pork imports added up to 47,133 tonnes in 2023, representing over half of total pork consumption. The imported tonnage equates to approximately 486,000 pigs every year. In 2023, 721 tonnes of dried eggs and 453 tonnes of liquid eggs were imported into New Zealand. This equates to the production of approximately 212,000 birds.
• Sow stalls: Around 60% of pork imported into New Zealand comes from countries like Canada, the United States and some European countries that allow the use of sow stalls. New Zealand banned sow stalls in 2016.
• Battery cages: Over 50% of liquid egg imports in 2023 came from Australia and China, where hens can be kept in battery cages. New Zealand's ban came into force in 2023.
• Legal advice indicates that under international trade rules New Zealand can restrict imports that don’t meet its own standards.
• Economic analysis: A report by Animal Policy International found the policy could increase domestic pork output by $17.2-29.0 million.
• Retaliation risk is low: As in the report, trading partners affected by the policy lack the legal basis to impose equivalent welfare-based requirements on New Zealand exports under WTO rules, and retaliatory tariffs would generate economic costs for the country imposing them with no recognised legal exception. Comparable policies - California's Proposition 12, the EU Slaughter Regulation, and welfare-based import bans elsewhere - have not triggered retaliation or significantly affected export volumes. New Zealand's small share of any major exporter's production (less than 0.5% in most cases) makes it a low-priority target for any retaliatory response.

Background

• In March 2024, a report by Animal Policy International, New Zealand SPCA and New Zealand Animal Law Association revealed that a significant amount of animal products imported into New Zealand are produced using farming methods prohibited in the country due to animal welfare concerns. The report found that over 90% of pork imported into New Zealand in 2022 came from countries like the United States, Canada and some European countries that allow the use of sow stalls, in which mother pigs are confined to narrow cages where they cannot perform basic behaviours. New Zealand banned sow stalls in 2016 after a public outcry. It also found that 86% of liquid egg imports in 2022 came from China and Australia where egg-laying hens can be kept in barren battery cages where there is less than an A4 sheet of paper per bird. New Zealand’s ban on barren battery cages came into force in 2023.
• In February 2025, the EU unveiled its Vision for Agriculture and Food where it recommitted to revise existing animal welfare legislation, including its commitment to phase out cages. Additionally, the Commission stated that future legislative proposals will apply the same standards for products produced in the EU and those imported from third countries.
• The Animal Products (Closing the Welfare Gap) Amendment Bill was put into the biscuit tin in May 2025 by Green MP Steve Abel. The bill will enable the Minister to set animal welfare standards for animal products sold in New Zealand. The Minister must make regulations regarding pigs and egg-laying hens within two years of this Bill coming into force.

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