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.

An Eketahuna woman is singing the praises of her english cocker spaniel Izzy after it sniffed out another dog that had been trapped for four days on a sheer cliff face.

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.

A family cat cut into pieces and a carabiner threaded through the neck of a dog are among the most inhumane treatment of animals on the SPCA's annual list of shame.

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.

The connection between animal abuse and the abuse of humans will be explored at this year's New Zealand Companion Animal Conference.