Kōrero: Animal welfare and rights

Penalties for cruelty

Penalties for cruelty

This 1879 newspaper account of the prosecution of two boys for setting fire to a dog mentions the higher penalties that had recently come into force under the Cruelty to Animals Act 1878. Before, under the English legislation which applied in most parts of the colony, the maximum penalty for an offence was £5 or two months in prison. This was revised to £20 or six months imprisonment. However, the magistrate stopped well short of the maximum penalty in this case because of the young age of the offenders.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

National Library of New Zealand, Papers Past
Reference: Press, 3 July 1879, p. 3

Permission of the National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Te tuhi tohutoro mō tēnei whārangi:

Nancy Swarbrick, 'Animal welfare and rights - Anti-cruelty organisations', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/mi/document/41770/penalties-for-cruelty (accessed 30 March 2024)

He kōrero nā Nancy Swarbrick, i tāngia i te 5 May 2011, reviewed & revised 1 Jul 2017