22nd New Zealand Companion Animal Conference

On Monday October 31st and Tuesday November 1st 2011 we attended the 22nd New Zealand Companion Animal Conference held at the Stamford Plaza Hotel in Auckland.

For those of you who have never heard of the New Zealand Companion Animal Council or NZCAC, it is a collection of organisations and individuals who meet four times a year to discuss events and issues that affect companion animals and some working animals. It also acts as a driving force for positive changes through submissions to the government, and has been instrumental in driving the writing of draft codes of welfare for a range of species. Each year the NZCAC holds the New Zealand Companion Animal Conference which focuses on a specific topics and brings keynote speakers from around the world to speak on a wide range of topics, along with local and regional speakers to provide depth and breadth.

This years keynote speaker was Jonathan Balcombe from the Humane Society University (HSU) and he gave two very interesting and engrossing talks over the two days - one about his new book the Exultant Ark, and the other on the inner lives of animals. These were interesting talks for so many reasons, and we are all planning on reading his books to see more about what he was talking about. Ideas included animals doing things for pleasure, and about animals showing memory and emotions. For some people these would seem anthropomorphic ideas, but they are really just common sense. Jonathan was an engaging and energetic speaker who had a passion for his topic and really encouraged people to connect with what he was saying. If his books are anywhere as engaging as his presentations then they will be well worthwhile reading.

Another interesting speaker was New Zealander Annie Potts, an Associate Professor and Co-Director of the New Zealand Centre for Human-Animal Studies. Most people think of chickens as stupid (bird brained) brains that don't deserve the same protections as other animals because they are just a food source. Annie had an amazing presentation that was really too short as she obviously had to shorten parts of her presentation to fit into the time frame. While there was an element of trying to educate people about the cruelty of the food production around chickens and eggs, it was more about opening our eyes about chickens as a species that has a lot to give, a companion animal species with all the quirks and affection of cats and dogs. Some of the chickens that Annie mentioned by name were real characters that brought a smile to your face, and the history of the chicken and the development of farming practices way back in Ancient Egypt and China was a real eye opener. She has a book coming out shortly about the chicken and again if the book has the same charisma as he talk it will be a fascinating read.

Another speaker, Russell McMurray from Victoria in Australia talked about the campaign to stop tail docking in Victoria. This was an amazing talk as it showed some of the mind blowing advertising they used, and showed the alarming fact that most people thought that docked breeds were born that way, and once people understood Boxers and other breeds were born with tails, there was a change of public opinion. The presentation also showed the sad fact that people will try and come up with any loophole they can to do what they want, including sending bitches to New Zealand to have their pups so the puppies can be legally docked here before being sent back to Australia. It really is time for a change, if you are docking tails merely because it is the breed standard that is not good enough.

This year also saw the return of Steve Glassey from Massey University. Steve spoke at the conference in Christchurch last year and had some fascinating, and scary, facts for people following the September 2010 earthquake. Steve was joined by representatives of the SPCA and VERT who had worked through the aftermath of the February 2011 earthquake that caused so much devastation in Christchurch. Their presentation left everyone very moved (there were more than a few tears around the room) and Steve and the panel again raised the fact that people need to be prepared for their animals as well as themselves. There are some simple things you can do to help with an evacuation situation:

• Make sure you animal is microchipped (not just your dogs) - something like 85% of microchipped animals were reunited with owners within 2 hours
• Have a carry cage for every cat you own - not just one cat cage for all your cats
• If you have dogs look at getting a muzzle - muzzled dogs are safer for everybody to transport Keep an emergency kit for your pets as well - food, water, and basic first aid supplies

Overall this was a great conference and the chance to network was amazing, and there are so many people there who were interested in talking to us about who the dogs were and the jobs they do. We are all looking forward to the 2012 conference in Wellington.