New Zealand Post opens competition for pet stamps

Kiwi owners can submit a photo of their pet into one of the competition’s four categories; Best Dressed, Cutest in Show, Cheekiest Rascal, and Kiwi Spirit.

State-owned postal service NZ Post is set to celebrate the joy of pets by selling the collectibles from 2 August 2023. Winners will be announced on 26 April 2023.

This is not the first time that companion animals have appeared on stamps:

Royal Mail (UK)

On 9 June 2022, the UK’s postal service issued a set of 8 stamps featuring a Siamese, tabby, British Shorthair, ginger, tabby-and-white, black-and-white, Maine Coon, and Bengal cat. The cats can be seen grooming, stalking, playing, sleeping, staring, and stretching on these action stamps.

PostNord (Sweden/Denmark)

In 2022, the Swedish-Danish postal service announced 5 winning cats highlighting distinct personalities and appearances with their motif representing Sweden’s most popular pets. Researcher Julia Weber’s Siberian cat ‘Hera’ stole the spotlight.

Australia Post (Australia)

Australia’s iconic budgie, a colorful and tiny parrot, made its way onto 3 stamps. The photographs of ‘Celery,’ clicked by photographer Leila Jeffreys, were immortalized on stamps in July 2022.

Posten Norge (Norway)

Norway’s postal service, along with the Norwegian Kennel Club, published photographs of 4 winning dogs after a contest for a stamp collection published in June 2020. Winners included a Whippet, Norwegian Lundehund, Great Dane, and a Belgian Shepherd dog.

United States Postal Service (US)

As part of The Pets Forever stamp collection, USPS featured 20 selected pets on stamps, clicked by photographer Eric Isselée in 2016. The postal service printed 400 million stamps of beloved puppies, Betta fish, iguanas, hamsters, goldfish, parrots, guinea pigs, and tortoises, among others.