Farmed animals

Healthy goats have good appetites, glossy coats, clear, bright eyes, and are interested in everything around them.

Across New Zealand, roosters often find themselves stigmatised for their distinct crow and overlooked in favour of their egg-producing female counterparts, hens.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that most New Zealander’s care about animal welfare. And care deeply. We spend vast amounts each year on our four-legged companions and are quick to condemn practices that we feel are cruel towards animals farmed for their meat, milk and fibre.

The terms ‘animal welfare’ and ‘animal rights’ are often used interchangeably. But they’re actually two different things. Read more about SPCA’s view of what we have in common and what our differences are here.

Male deer (stags) grow and shed antlers each year. ‘Velvet antler’ refers to antlers that are still growing – during this stage, they are covered with a velvet-like covering of soft fine hair. While growing, velvet antler receives a full blood supply and contains nerve endings. In New Zealand, deer velvet is surgically removed from farmed red deer (wapiti) and is sold as a health supplement or traditional medicine and often exported.

When the ban on livestock export by sea finally came into effect in April 2023 after decades of campaigning, people in New Zealand and around the world celebrated this significant milestone for animals. However, the Government and animal export industry representatives have been discussing bringing this cruelty back – this time under so-called ‘gold standard’ conditions. What does this mean, and why won’t it work?

While the live export industry can be secretive about conditions on-board, we can get glimpses of what it was like from brave veterinarians, Official Information Act releases, academic papers and government standards. Read on for more information and photos from New Zealand live export’s recent past. Warning: it doesn’t paint a pleasant picture.

While many people enjoy the fireworks festivities, some animals can become highly distressed by fireworks.

Happy Halloween animal lovers! Please remember that today can be a little too scary for animals – here are our best pet safety tips.

Recent natural disasters both here in New Zealand and around the world have shown that we all need a plan for emergency or disaster situations.