Canterbury SPCA welfare investigators are run off their feet trying to catch up after a record month for complaints in December.

Department of Conservation rangers are checking beaches at Farewell Spit this morning for any signs that a pod of whales restranded overnight.

'These whales have to get out today if they want to make it.' There's a dire warning for a pod of 50 whales stranded at Farewell Spit, as three more die.

Shark fin remains on the dinner menu at Auckland's SkyCity casino, at $70 for a small serving, despite assurances to the contrary.

A large number of pilot whales refloated after beaching at Farewell Spit in Golden Bay are in danger once again.

More whales have stranded themselves at the top of the South Island days after nine were put down due to being beached at the same spot.

Eight pilot whales which have restranded themselves at the top of the South Island will be euthanised.

Time was running out tonight for a group of pilot whales to swim back out to sea on the high tide after becoming stranded at Farewell Spit in Golden Bay this morning.

Tens of thousands of dead bats have fallen from the sky as a "catastrophic" heatwave hits parts of eastern Australia.

Editorial: Shooting sharks does not sound very sensible if the purpose is to make beaches safer for swimming.

A cat caused a stir after being stuck in a central Auckland building shaft for four days.

It was a routine flea treatment, his family thought. But it was nearly a case of kitty-cide for Dexter who had a bad reaction to the product - which was for dogs.

Dope growers have been blamed for the death of a "beautiful" young kiwi chick that was being monitored by the Department of Conservation.

A teen accused of firing a crossbow bolt through the head of a cat may be granted diversion.

Roosters desperately need somewhere to roost around the fringes of New Zealand's largest city.

Campaigners convinced NZ's set-net fishing restrictions are a death sentence for the Maui's dolphin have laid cardboard coffins and fishing nets full of plastic junk outside Parliament.

Gun in hand, Kiwi millionaire Mark Gunton stands proudly over the corpse of a fallen African elephant.

A teen accused of firing a crossbow bolt through the head of a cat has been granted name suppression in a brief court appearance.

British zoo staff have killed three wolves which escaped from their pen.

When Melissa Bachman posted a photo of herself posing with an assault rifle and a very dead lion, she must have known she was being deliberately provocative.

It was the kind of photo opportunity Cabinet ministers dream of.

Princess Anne has suggested people in Britain should consider eating horse meat as it would help to improve the welfare of the animals.

Dogs may be man's best friend but, on many New Zealand farms, they are also often their best employees.

Several of New Zealand's most cherished birds - among them the kea and two types of albatross - have been shifted to a more serious conservation status following a national survey.