Parliament provided a clear direction to the judiciary when it unanimously increased penalties for animal cruelty in 2010, writes Catriona MacLennan.

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.

Animal-loving science students design network to bring pets and their owners together.

Ditching the high heels for gumboots, Rachel Hunter spent a night creeping through the bush to bring a kiwi egg to Kiwi Encounter.

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 dog has been shot in a violent home invasion in the Auckland suburb of Mt Roskill early this morning.

Had they remained in the wild, Elmo, Gonzo, Lulu and Gordon would have been long gone.

The decline of the kea, the world's only alpine parrot species, could spell the end of 12 per cent of New Zealand's alpine plants, researchers say.

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.

Underground ferret breeders in NZ feed Japanese demand for the blacklisted animals.

Two ring-tailed lemur babies have been born to mother Yetta at Hamilton Zoo.

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.