An endangered sea turtle which is believed to have been caught in strong currents before it was washed up on a Wellington beach on Saturday remains in a critical condition at Wellington Zoo. The endangered olive ridley sea turtle received a full health assessment at The Nest at Wellington Zoo yesterday.

This year’s Cook Strait Whale Survey counted 137 humpback whales, its highest tally in its 12 years and an encouraging indication their numbers are increasing in New Zealand. The annual four-week Department of Conservation survey, which ended on July 11, also broke its record for the highest number of humpbacks seen in a day with 27 spotted on Sunday June 21.

Animal rights advocates have condemned a ''disturbing'' rise in the number of forced animal drownings this year.

An Auckland man has been ordered to complete community service after his pet dog was found almost starved to death after being fed instant noodles.

The World Wildlife Fund Australia captured from a GoPro attached to the back of a turtle as it dove through the waters over Australia's Great Barrier Reef. The video, which gives a turtle's-eye view of the coral system is being used to highlight the level of pollution affecting turtles in Australian waters. Source: WWF Australia/Facebook

Thousands of cats and dogs have been slaughtered at the Yulin Festival despite official promises to end the practice.

Auckland Zoo's newest addition, Anjalee the Asian elephant, has spent her first night in New Zealand after she was flown, trucked and craned in to Western Springs.

They were known as the Spade Brigade: thousands of volunteers, from different walks of life, armed with garden tools. Together, they transformed Tiritiri Matangi from a virtually birdless, treeless island to a world-renowned forest sanctuary.

An animal welfare group is offering a reward in a bid to track down and prosecute a pet owner who callously threw a dog off a bridge into the Wairoa River.

Danish radio presenter bludgeoned a baby rabbit to death with a bicycle pump whilst debating animal rights live on air.

VIDEO: Residents of a Brisbane neighbourhood are being stalked by a giant kangaroo, taking locals by surprise as it wanders fearlessly around the streets.

Australia's live animal export trade is once again under a harsh spotlight amid claims that cattle are being bludgeoned to death with sledgehammers in Vietnam.

No chickens were harmed in a fire that tore through a commercial chicken processing plant in rural Waikato this morning.

A new review calling for bold and urgent measures to control roaming cats - including compulsory microchipping - has been criticised as flawed.

Puppy farms and dog fighting were topics Labour's animal welfare spokesman Trevor Mallard sank his teeth into at the SPCA Otago in Dunedin yesterday.

Thermal imaging could be used to prevent ships striking whales by detecting the heat from their bodies.

A dominant male chimpanzee that launched a ferocious two-minute attack that killed a female newcomer to Hamilton Zoo is back with his troop.

A female chimpanzee died after a horrific two-minute attack by the dominant male at Hamilton Zoo.

It may have taken five years, but Chester the shelter dog has finally found a home - and become a social media sensation at the same time.

A proposed voluntary code of conduct for breeders selling puppies on Trade Me doesn't go far enough, say animal advocates.

Half the 7375 dogs impounded in Auckland were destroyed in 2013-14 after being unclaimed by their owners and deemed unsuitable for adoption.

Wrapped in a furry cream blanket with a pink silk trim, Anubis the cheetah lies in a large green sling and is carried into the Auckland Zoo vet surgery by seven zoo staff.

A complicated cat rescue at a Mosgiel arts and crafts shop has ended with the shop's lock picked and holes bored into its wall.

The northern white rhino is heading the way of the dinosaurs. With only five left on Earth extinction is now inevitable.

Authorities are investigating a photo of thin jersey cows being transported across Cook Strait to slaughter, which caused outrage after being shared on Facebook.

A police officer who was savagely attacked by a pitbull while on duty yesterday says he went into survival mode while the dog chewed at his body.