Blog Articles

Meet Vinnie.   Aside from the occasional zoomie, Vinnie spends his days hanging out with his human and doggie friends and snuggling anyone willing to lend him a lap. He’s really just a docile couch potato. Vinnie is a loved and valued member of his family. This cuddly and affectionate...

In the lead up to this year’s general election, SAFE supporters rallied together to make sure animals were on the agenda. Thanks to the amazing support for this campaign, we are closer than ever to freeing all hens from cages in Aotearoa. It’s been clear for a long time that...

In just over 200 years, New Zealand has gone from being a country with no cows to being the biggest exporter of dairy in the world.  There are more cows in New Zealand than humans. Each one of these animals is a sensitive individual with their own unique experience of...

In winter 2019, shocking images of cows up to their knees in mud, unable to lie down and rest, were in the media. Aerial footage revealed extensive environmental degradation in parts of Otago and Southland.  A Southland kindergarten was even forced to close when runoff from a nearby farm washed...

For most of our lives, advertisements have told us that cow’s milk is good for us, that we need it for strong bones, or if we are to have any chance of making New Zealand’s Olympic team. But is this backed up by science? Or is it just clever advertising?...

Like many people caring for animals, my mornings start with a feeding and cleaning routine. With over 30 hens, the vast majority of whom arrived featherless and skinny after serving an 18-month sentence in an intensive farm, the daily routine is well-planned and efficiently executed.   The hens rush out...

Bobby calves are one of the more unpalatable truths of the dairy industry. Autumn/winter calving is the busiest time of the year for ‘bobby calf disposal,’ as it is called in the industry. A bobby calf is a four to 10 day old newborn calf, who is not needed by...

If you’ve been thinking about ditching dairy and would like a little help to get started, we have just the thing for you. It’s fun, easy and FREE! The Dairy-Free Challenge is an exciting email series that covers everything from getting started to delicious recipes, dairy-free products and tips galore!...

The Gulf Livestock 1 issued a distress signal at 4.45am on the 2nd September (NZT) from the East China Sea, an area effected by Typhoon Maysak. The ship had left Napier on 14th August, and was carrying 5,700 cows and 43 crew members, including two New Zealanders. At 4pm a...

Last week on TVNZ’s Meat the Family, we watched in horror as a UK family of four cared for chickens as pets for three weeks before they were forced to make a tough decision – commit to vegetarianism to save the chickens’ lives or send them to the slaughterhouse and...

Animal issues have fallen off the political radar in 2020, and there is no sign that any of the political parties are focused on making positive and significant improvements to animals’ lives. Colony cages will therefore only be banned after the election if animal activists step up to carry out...

The new TV show ‘Meat the Family’ aired its first episode in New Zealand on Tuesday 25 August. ‘Meat the Family’ has replaced the delightful series ‘The Dog House’ on TVNZ 1. Last night, along with many other animal lovers who were expecting to watch a heart-warming show about dog...

If you enjoy a soy flat white or a tofu stir fry, you may have already heard flimsy arguments about why soy is ‘bad’. So it wasn’t surprising to see this article from The Sustainable Food Trust (who, it’s important to point out is largely made up of farmers) popping...

If you’ve been thinking about going plant-based for some time, we have some good news for you – winter is the best and easiest time to embrace a plant-based diet! Okay, so there’s never a wrong time to switch to a plant-based diet, but making the switch now, while the days...