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Keeping your goats healthy
Healthy goats have good appetites, glossy coats, clear, bright eyes, and are interested in everything around them.
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Caring for pigs
Pigs are social and intelligent animals. They are a sub-species of the wild boar, and can live up to 15 years! Before you decide to care for pigs, it is important to consider whether you have the time, resources, and knowledge, as well as the right environment to care for your pigs properly.
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Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease Virus and Rabbit Vaccination in New Zealand
Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease, also known as Rabbit Calicivirus Disease, is caused by Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease Virus (RHDV) is a highly contagious, usually fatal disease that can affect all domestic and wild rabbits.
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Debunking rooster myths
Across New Zealand, roosters often find themselves stigmatised for their distinct crow and overlooked in favour of their egg-producing female counterparts, hens.
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Caring for ducks
While ducks can make great companions, they are also a serious commitment. Before you decide to care for ducks, it is important to consider whether you have the time, resources, and knowledge, as well as the right environment to care for your ducks properly.
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The animal welfare problem with velvet antler removal
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.
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Why a “Gold Standard” for livestock export by sea is a shameful deception
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?
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What is it like to be an animal on board a live export ship?
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.
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Learn about Animal Welfare: Free SPCA online course
Take our fun and interactive 20-minute SPCA animal welfare course, developed in collaboration with international RSPCA partners
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Feeding goats
Goats are ruminant herbivores and differ from sheep and cattle in that goats are browsers.