Wild birds including ducks, geese and pheasants are being poached from public parks in Auckland and being turned into dinner.

The volcanoes of Mordor are erupting right on cue for the Hobbit premiere, but animals have been the problem.

New Zealand has joined Australia in questioning the validity of Japan's whaling for scientific purposes in the Southern Ocean, says MP Murray McCully.

A wrangler at the centre of claims animals were mistreated during filming of The Hobbit stands by his allegations, but says he never intended to tarnish the movie.

Sir Peter Jackson says accusations of animal cruelty are distressing to dedicated staff.

A necropsy on a Bryde's whale found dead on Motuihe Island in Hauraki Gulf has confirmed that the whale was hit by a vessel, the Department of Conservation says.

A Christchurch dog owner who poisoned his quake-affected pet with insecticide after it attacked his grandson has been banned from owning animals for five years.

Endangered albatrosses which nest in New Zealand are under increasing threat as they compete with commercial fishing operations in the same waters, University of Canterbury researcher Lorna Deppe says.

Sniffer dogs were used to check predator-free islands off Northland's coast after a boat broke a mooring and drifted onto rocks, sparking a conservation scare.

A neglected dog was left with scabies over his entire body, lost most of his fur and suffered damage to his eyes after his owner failed to get treatment for him.

Southland police are on the hunt for whoever was responsible for an attack on sheep and lambs that can only be described as sadistic.

A little blue penguin has been mauled to death by a dog at a popular Canterbury beach - the second to die in six months.