Election 2023: Animal Justice Party Bay of Plenty candidate, Caitlin Grattan

The newly formed Animal Justice Party appealed to Caitlin Grattan as she said she wanted to “make an impact for animals” because measures currently in place were “not cutting it”.

Grattan said the party would establish a commissioner for animals, transition New Zealand to a “plant-based” economy and ensure that “cruel” live animal exports are never brought back.

She said that moving to a plant-based economy “wouldn’t happen overnight” and she hopes farmers would be willing to keep the animals on their land or that they would be taken by rescue shelters.

”It’s finding that space for them to just live their lives out in peace,” she said.

As a renter, Grattan said she has had to move three times in two years and the party would work with landlords to discourage discrimination against animal owners by putting emphasis on balance and education.

Currently, it is illegal for a landlord to charge an additional bond to pet owners.

However, Grattan said they may look at introducing this in Parliament.

Grattan said the Animal Justice Party does not want to see 1080 being used but instead would want to increase funding for conservation and research.

”We know the introduced wildlife needs to be phased out, but it doesn’t need to be done in such an inhumane way,” she said.