The Animal Justice Party Aotearoa NZ (AJPANZ) is an unregistered political party, formed in November 2022. We hope to become registered in time to contest the 2023 general election.

Members of the Animal Justice Party Aotearoa NZ have divergent views over the necessity of imposing further regulation on Therapeutic Products.

What members agree on however is that if the Regulator is required to assess tests for safety and efficacy on newly developed products, they should discount data from any animal testing. Testing on animals is inhumane and unnecessary, and in some cases can be misleading.

AJPANZ commend those who drafted and passed the Psychoactive Substances Act 2013. During deliberations on this Act, the House of Representatives voted on including an amendment specifically precluding the regulator from

“hav[ing] regard to the results of a trial that involves the use of any animal”.

This amendment received cross party support and indicated the shift in thinking away from using inhumane and expensive animal testing for safety and efficacy testing.

It is now ten years on, and public opinion has moved even further in its opposition to animal testing.

In its submission to the Health Committee, AJPANZ requested that a similar section be added to the Therapeutic Products Bill precluding the use of animal testing.

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