An animal welfare organisation believes a dog fighting ring is behind a rise in the number of dogs going missing, but the SPCA doubts that's the case.

An egg producer who made hundreds of thousands of dollars from more than 206,000 dozen falsely labelled eggs has been sentenced to home detention.

John Banks is unlikely to be thrown in with other convicts to cut scrub or clean beaches during his sentence.

Two brothers who starved horses so badly they had to be shot by animal welfare officers have been jailed and banned from owning horses for five years.

There was a purrfect ending yesterday for a wayward cat stuck up a palm tree in a suburban garden for 10 days and nights.

The police and SPCA have carried out a search of a Raglan property as part of an investigation into how the bodies of two cats ended up dead in rubbish bags.

Greymouth police have identified a suspect they believe is responsible for burning a cat last week and say they are confident of making an arrest.

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

After being Awol for half a decade Randy the cat was recently reunited with his owners - thanks to a trusty microchip, a caring stranger, and the Auckland SPCA.

Chickens starved to death, dead and decaying bobby calves and the carcasses of four goats were found by SPCA inspectors at a rural West Auckland property.

A lifestyle block farmer who bashed two pigs with a heavy steel bar in a "prolonged and violent attack" in front of an upset teenage boy has been jailed today.

A man who almost starved his dog to death because he had "lost interest" in the pet, has been banned from owning animals for five years.

A woman who claimed she could not afford treatment for her kitten's ruptured eye has been sentenced to community service and fined.

A lesson for would-be burglars - in a break-in, don't leave your band-aid behind. The icky DNA 'present' has helped police arrest a double burglary suspect.

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

Found wandering the streets as a chick, this hen is ready to be given a loving home.

Missy is a 2-year-old female staffie/boxer mixed breed dog that needs some company.

This male Muscovy duck was brought in as a stray.

Abandoned on the streets with a collar embedded in her neck, Zahara has recovered and is ready for a loving home.

Melissa and Charlie come as a pair, having lived together with a previous owner, and would like to be adopted.