Thousands of sheep in Australia are believed to have died after eating a poisonous plant that makes them “bash their heads on posts and rocks until they crack open”.

Police had to be called after an Ashmore presented its owner with a 5g bag of cannabis.

Calls are being made to remove dissections from first-year courses as the killing of animals at universities comes under fresh scrutiny.

A Hawkes Bay farmer was ordered to pay $7000 to the SPCA and $529 in reparation following one of the worst cases of neglect an SPCA inspector said he had seen.

The cat population at Auckland SPCA has reached critical levels and families willing to adopt pets are urgently needed.

Eighty native birds have been caught on Little Barrier Island and delivered to a new wildlife reserve in the Hauraki Gulf.

Scientists have discovered a pre-historic mainland species of sea lion thought to have been wiped out by Polynesian settlers and replaced by the modern NZ sea lion.

A new study has put even more genetic distance between the extinct moa and their old bush mates, the kiwi, but found similarities with a South American bird.

In NZ animals are afforded basic rights - including freedom and suffering. Except the 3 million made to take part in experiments, writes Sally Hibbard.

A band of foreign snakes that are said to be capable of crushing small children to death are on the loose in North London.

A critically ill baby kakapo has been nursed back to health at Auckland Zoo. "Heather One", one of only six kakapo bred this season, was 10 days old and severely underweight when she was found on Little Barrier Island in late March.

A Whangarei man was sent for the barbaric torture of at least 10 possums, including nailing them to trees and chopping off their limbs.

A dog has killed a male kiwi that was living in the wild just north of Wellington.

Experts have flown in from all over the world. Samples have been taken. And now the waiting begins... Will Tian Tian, Edinburgh Zoo's giant panda, deliver?

A man who filmed himself nailing a possum to a tree has been sentenced to prison.

More than 170 sharks have been caught and 50 destroyed as part of Australia's controversial culling policy, government figures have revealed.

Defenders of dogs, cats and rats are starting to feel that this could be their year. They've joined forces to make animal welfare an election issue for the first time.

Animal expert Sally Hibbard spends the day with our very clever sniffer dogs, protecting New Zealand from anything that could put our agriculture at risk.

Prime Minister John Key has ruled out any animal testing on legal high products.

A Whitianga woman is considering taking the fight for her beloved dog to the High Court after it was sentenced to death.

The little blue penguin that washed up on the streets of a landlocked upmarket Auckland suburb last weekend has died from starvation.

These stunning photos capture the moment in nature when a warthog stepped into the path of a hungry LION- and became its prey. As the warthog steps into the lions den, the lion leaps with brute force and captures the wild pig. The lion then proceeds to devour the animal- proving his status as top of the animal food chain. These incredible images were caught on camera by photographer Dr Trix Jonker, at the Addo Elephant Park in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa.