What Does Your Heart Say?

Thursday, 28 August 2025, 9:25 am
Press Release: The Vegan Society Aotearoa New Zealand

In support of the World Day for the End of Speciesism, on 30th August, the Vegan Society is demanding a new legal status for animals: Current Animal Welfare laws recognise that animals are sentient beings yet still allow them to be treated as property and given no consideration beyond those laws.

“The recognition of animals as sentient beings must allow them the right to have their interests be protected by law and for them to not have the status of property. Just as over a hundred years ago it was globally popular to consider certain people as property, the time to give the same consideration to animals has come. If they are sentient beings, then they should not be considered as property.” Said Vegan Society spokesperson, Claire Insley.

In helping the move towards that, and against some heartless teachings in previous years, the Society is also recommending the prevention of speciesism, through education on ecology and the right of animals to their own lives. They ask the reader to look into their heart and feel the truth found there. Are other animals sentient beings, capable of feeling and showing empathy? Humans share the planet with thousands of other species, yet these other creatures are given little to no consideration in human doings.

In line with the above statements, the Society calls for a reduction of animal agriculture and a move towards growing more plants, transitioning over time towards a fully plant-based economy. 80% of people agree that it is wrong to hurt animals, yet somehow think that eating them doesn’t hurt them? An easy solution is to eat plant-based food. Not only does it save the lives of animals, it has also been consistently shown to be healthier and the adoption of a plant-based diet can save 75% of the food carbon emissions!

There is a petition currently running that is asking for government support for farmers so they can once again lead the way in food production. Aotearoa has beautiful fertile soils that are not used effectively or efficiently. Land use for horticulture is typically underutilised and there is a growing reliance on dairying, which is a very polluting industry in terms of land area used, water quantity used, number of cows, stock density, water pollution, impaction of soil, faecal and urinary waste production, methane emissions and biodiversity.

The petition calls for subsidies for growing more plants, for reducing livestock numbers and to retrain workers currently in animal agriculture.

The final demand is that animals are no longer used in research, either for medicine or knowledge. With the increased use and reliance on AI, there remains little reason to continue to experiment on animals. There is no scientific reason to continue to use animals in this way and it is only the lack of ethical considerations that allow this sort of thing to continue.

What if humanity was judged on how it treats itself and other species? How would aliens view its treatment of other animals? Isn’t it time to change the narrative?

More about the Vegan Society Aotearoa New Zealand:

The Vegan Society supports and facilitates a vegan lifestyle and plant-based eating by creating a vibrant, visible and influential community, and by providing resources and information.

For more information see our website www.vegansociety.org.nz

Find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/VegSocNZ

Interact on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/vegansocietynz

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