Leaving sheep to starve costs livestock manager $20,000
Leaving sheep to starve costs livestock manager $20,000
Leaving 1400 sheep to starve has cost a PGG Wrightson livestock manager and auctioneer more than $20,000.
Animal Welfare
Unseasonal influx of cats causes severe food shortage
Unseasonal influx of cats causes severe food shortage
An unseasonal influx of stray and abandoned felines has left the Otago SPCA struggling to care for them all.
Dog ill-treatment charge back before the courts
Dog ill-treatment charge back before the courts
Kilt-wearing Christchurch man John McPherson, who allegedly dragged a dog behind his mobility scooter, has finally appeared in court after a range of problems prevented him from appearing earlier in the week.
US woman gets house arrest for piercing kittens
US woman gets house arrest for piercing kittens
A woman convicted of animal cruelty for marketing "gothic kittens" with ear and neck piercings has been sentenced to six months of house arrest.
Pet shops under SPCA scrutiny
Pet shops under SPCA scrutiny
SPCA animal welfare inspectors are making regular visits to a chain of Auckland pet stores following concerns about the welfare of its animals.
Greens want animal cruelty law to cover farm animals
Greens want animal cruelty law to cover farm animals
The Greens would support increased sentences for animal cruelty, but say the Government should also make cruel practices like keeping pigs in crates and chickens in battery cages illegal.
SPCA, police likely to lay charges over shooting of dogs
SPCA, police likely to lay charges over shooting of dogs
One of the men accused of shooting 33 dogs in a bloody massacre runs a shop advertising pet care.
Deadline looms for dairy plans
Deadline looms for dairy plans
Environment Minister Nick Smith has until next Friday to decide whether to call in resource consent applications of two companies with controversial plans to establish new dairy farms in the Omarama and Ohau area.
Labour points to wide issues
Labour points to wide issues
The calling-in of resource consent applications "makes sense" because the issue of proposed large-scale dairy farm development in the Omarama and Ohau area was too big for Environment Canterbury to handle properly, Labour's water quality spokesman Brendon Burns said yesterday.
Call to get tough on animal abuse
Call to get tough on animal abuse
A first-term National Party MP is seeking cross-party support for a law change for harsher penalties in cases of extreme animal cruelty.
SPCA finds homes for some kittens
SPCA finds homes for some kittens
Several kittens from the Otago SPCA found new homes on Christmas Day, but the society still has many kittens waiting to be adopted.
Too many mouths to feed
Too many mouths to feed
The Otago SPCA is turning people away and is desperately low on kitten and puppy food as it struggles to find homes for unusually high numbers of kittens, cats, dogs and puppies.
Man sentenced for animal cruelty
Man sentenced for animal cruelty
A sentence handed out to man who bound a dog's mouth shut and tied up its legs shows that animal cruelty will not be tolerated, an Auckland council said today.
Submissions flood in
Submissions flood in
More than 3500 public submissions have so far been received on proposals for three big dairy farm developments in the Ohau and Omarama areas with one day to go for public submissions on two of those.
Legal action derails pig welfare code
Legal action derails pig welfare code
The Pork Industry Board's threat of legal action which has delayed the release of a new code of welfare for pigs is disappointing, Agriculture Minister David Carter said today.
PM joins 'factory farm' concerns
PM joins 'factory farm' concerns
Prime Minister John Key and Agriculture Minister David Carter yesterday joined growing opposition to "factory farming" in the Omarama-Ohau area.
Call for Government to act on cubicle stabling
Call for Government to act on cubicle stabling
Waitaki First has issued a challenge to the Government to "walk the talk" and get involved in the resource consents process to establish 16 new dairy farms with up to 17,850 cows at Omarama and Ohau in the upper Waitaki Valley.