Requires sows in any farrowing system to be provided with manipulable and deformable materials until farrowing.
Decreases the maximum period sows may be kept in farrowing crates from a total of 33 days to a maximum of 3 days prior to farrowing and a maximum of 4 days post-farrowing.
Decreases the maximum period a nurse sow can be kept in a farrowing crate for fostering purposes from an additional week to a single period of no more than 36 hours.
Requires records be kept documenting compliance with these requirements;

Proposed changes to Regulation 27 (other requirements relating to management of pigs)

Reduces the maximum time sows may be confined in mating stalls from 7 days per reproductive cycle to 3 hours at a time, with no limit on the number of times used.

Restricts a pig from being confined again to a mating stall for at least 3 hours after it has been released.

The Amendment Bill is available on Parliament’s website.

Animal Welfare (Regulations for Management of Pigs) Amendment Bill - New Zealand Parliament

MPI’s Regulatory Impact Statement is provided in the link below

MPI's regulatory impact statement on the proposed changes to the regulations [PDF, 1.4 MB]

Summary of submission to this consultation

The changes to Regulations 25, 26, and 27 were developed following this consultation and targeted consultation that took place between 2022 and 2025. We received just under 4,500 submissions to the public consultation.

Summary of submissions on the consultation about the code of welfare for pigs and associated regulations [PDF, 1.1 MB]

Economic analysis report

In 2023, MPI commissioned Sapere Research Limited to provide an economic analysis of 3 proposals regarding the code of welfare and the associated regulations that had been put forward by NAWAC, New Zealand Pork, and MPI. The report’s focus is on proposed changes to the minimum standards and regulations that set the requirements for farrowing crates, weaning age, minimum spacing requirements for grower pigs, mating stalls, and provision of manipulable materials.

Economic analysis report (code of welfare for pigs and associated regulations) – Sapere Research Limited

Next steps

The Animal Welfare (Regulations for Management of Pigs) Amendment Bill will be scrutinised by the Primary Production Select Committee. You can follow the bill’s progress by checking the select committee business page on the New Zealand Parliament website and see when the committee will be seeking submissions on the bill.

Primary Production Select Committee – New Zealand Parliament

Consultation background

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC) proposed changes to how pigs are farmed in New Zealand. Among the proposals in this consultation were changes to the use of farrowing crates and the amount of space that needs to be provided for grower and weaner pigs.

NAWAC's review of the Code followed a High Court ruling on farrowing crates and mating stalls and prompted a closer look at how pork is produced in New Zealand. The High Court recommended introducing new rules regarding their use, and the government agreed to phase out their use by 2025.

Consultation opened on 29 April and closed on 8 July 2022.

Consultation document

Proposed Code of Welfare for Pigs and associated regulations [PDF, 951 KB]

What was proposed?

A number of changes were proposed. They included:

prohibiting or restricting of the use of farrowing crates
restricting the use of mating stalls
requiring manipulable (nesting) material to be provided prior to farrowing
increased space allowances for grower and weaner pigs
increased the weaning age from 21 to 28 days.

Submissions are public information

Note that all, part, or a summary of your submission may be published on this website. Most often this happens when we issue a document that reviews the submissions received.

People can also ask for copies of submissions under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA). The OIA says we must make the content of submissions available unless we have good reason for withholding it. Those reasons are detailed in sections 6 and 9 of the Act.

If you think there are grounds to withhold specific information from publication, make this clear in your submission or contact us. Reasons may include that it discloses commercially sensitive or personal information. However, any decision MPI makes to withhold details can be reviewed by the Ombudsman, who may direct us to release it.

Official Information Act 1982 – NZ Legislation

Changes to the Code of Welfare for Pigs and associated regulations

Closing date

Contact

Email

UPDATE – 22 October 2025

Cabinet papers and related documents

UPDATE – 16 October 2025

UPDATE – 1 October 2025

Changes to regulations proposed

Proposed change to Regulation 25 (minimum lying space for grower pigs)

Proposed changes to Regulation 26 (farrowing requirements)