A dairy farmer convicted of breaking cows tails, in the worst case of its kind animal welfare authorities had ever seen, has been banned from owning cows for five years.

The SPCA will launch investigate after a drunk woman rode her horse through the streets of Greymouth and offered bar patrons rides around town before being arrested.

Greymouth police impounded an unusual mode of transport on Saturday night - a horse.

A dog owner is pleading for fishermen to take care after her young dog swallowed a fish hook on the beach and needed major surgery costing $2500.

A pitbull dog dumped on the side of a country road with a litter of seven newborn puppies was suffering and critically ill from having an unborn puppy still inside her.

The International Rodeo could be barred from returning to Forsyth Barr Stadium if the Dunedin City Council agrees to a plea from animal rights group Safe.

At two rodeos last month I watched as many in the crowd looked on, sealed off to the meaning of struggling frightened animals, writes Lynn Charlton.

A mare and her foal have been poisoned with a cocktail of prescription and over-the-counter drugs by a group of schoolboys.

There are only 7 northern white rhinos left in the world and 4 of them live in the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya. Protecting them and the other rhinos, elephants, leopards and other animals in the reserve is a particularly hard job for the 190 rangers.

The mother of a woman who was attacked by two dogs is relieved they have been removed from the owners.

More than 80 per cent of those who live with cats consider them to be a member of the family, writes Bob Kerridge.

Logan Joel Dawson pleaded guilty to charges laid under the Animal Welfare Act by the SPCA and will face his sentence in Hamilton District Court.

A hospitalised woman who needed surgery after a savage attack by two dogs in Christchurch is questioning why authorities haven't impounded the animals.

Demand for New Zealand dairy livestock in China appears to be booming, with more than 38,000 live animals leaving our shores for Chinese pastures last year.

Those responsible for shooting five domesticated goats, one of which took five days to die, are being warned by police.

Poachers and stock rustlers are being warned by Federated Farmers to find a different line of work.

The majority of New Zealanders do not want recreational drugs tested on animals, a Herald-DigiPoll survey reveals.

More than 360 impounded dogs were killed this year despite being suitable for adoption.

Wanganui SPCA staff rescued a dog which they say was having a fit and near death due to being trapped in a hot vehicle.

Liz Holdcroft says the 19 years she's spent at the SPCA have been bittersweet - she's loved and cared for many animals.

An SPCA inspector is "extremely disappointed" by the sentence imposed on a Dunedin man convicted in relation to a "very disturbing" animal welfare case.

The New Zealand dotterel breeding season this year has been fraught with nest losses mainly due to predation.

An Auckland cat owner is hoping a reward will lead to information about who shot her 1-year-old seal burmese with an airgun.

Drug policy has to start from a base of logic, writes Kevin Tamati. "Peter Dunne has reasoned that it's the health consequences that provide a rationale."

Manufacturers of party pills could be prevented from testing their drugs on animals if they cannot prove it is worth the pain they could potentially cause.