Paw Justice was formed by stuntmen, Craig Dunn and Shaughan Campbell whose love for action was outdone by their love for animals. After working and becoming friends with the late Steve Irwin, Craig became inspired by Steve’s attitude, ‘if you don’t do it, who will?”.
In 2007, Craig and Shaughan were moved by the plight of ‘Eve’, a female mastiff abandoned under a house during the holiday period for 6 weeks without food and water. When found, Eve weighed a bare 17kgs and was covered in faeces. She was located despite not being registered. Eve was lucky, being adopted out by the SPCA after receiving extensive vet care. The horrific treatment of ‘Eve’ spurred Craig and Shaughan into establishing Paw Justice, an organisation which they wanted to dedicate towards reducing and eliminating animal abuse.
After carrying out their own enquiries, the boys realised there were few options for getting justice for Eve. Penalties for animal abuse under the Animal Welfare Act were not particularly onerous and often were not enforced to their full degree. Paw Justice’s first campaign sought amendments to animal welfare law in New Zealand, and specifically, harsher penalties for instances of horrific animal abuse. With the help of celebrities like Lucy Lawless (Xena) and other celebrities from Shortland Street, Outrageous Fortune and Go Girls, Paw Justice launched a nationwide petition calling for tougher penalties for animal abusers. The campaign focused the public’s attention on the issue of animal abuse, generating support from hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders. Public interest ultimately resulted in the passing of a private member’s bill and then the Animal Welfare Amendment Act 2010 which amended animal welfare law in New Zealand.
Since then, Paw Justice has gone from strength to strength, taking part in community focused projects such as setting up of the Foodbank, initiating education programs to teach our youth about animal care and welfare (increasing empathy for animals) and setting up an emergency surgery fund. Paw Justice has not forgotten its roots and continues to support advocacy work, ensuring our animals and pets have a voice. It stands by one motto – Zero tolerance to animal abuse.