Media releases

Organisers of the NZ Dairy Industry Awards are investigating unsavoury social media comments allegedly made by the newly crowned 2020 Share Farmer of the Year, Nick Bertram. In a statement the NZDIA Trust chair Natasha Tere says they have been made aware of “historical comments” made by Bertram. Read more

In 2017, Nick Bertram posted on Twitter a series of profanity-laden Tweets describing the cruel and illegal methods he uses to handle his cows, which he called ‘bitches.’ Bertram won the ‘Share Farmer of the Year’ award at the 2020 New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards (NZDIA) on Saturday. Read more

Northland sharemilker Mike Luke who was filmed repeatedly and violently bashing his cows was sentenced in the Whangārei District Court today and fined $3,130. The footage was taken by Farmwatch after complaints from farm workers were ignored by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI). Read more

Colorado’s cage ban will free six million hens from a lifetime of confinement in cages. The State’s Governor signed the bill into law yesterday. Colorado joins Washington, Oregon, Michigan and California as the fifth state in the United States to ban cages. Read more

Earlier this week, researchers in China revealed they had found a new strain of H1N1 swine flu which they say has “all the essential hallmarks of a candidate pandemic virus.” New Zealand’s Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said this morning that discovering new viruses isn’t “uncommon,” and that we...

New measures announced yesterday by Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage and Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash will not bring the critically endangered Māui dolphin back from the brink, according to animal rights organisation SAFE. SAFE Campaigns Director Ilan Goldberg said the measures do not go far enough. Read more

Photos shot by a Fiordland resident in early June show cows in mud-filled paddocks with no shelter. A complaint was made to the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), which failed to take any action after visiting the farm. Two weeks later, new photos taken at the same location again showed...

Almost double the number of cows were exported in the first five months of 2020 than in the same period in 2019. This increase has occurred while the Government is undertaking a review of the live-export trade, which Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor launched in June 2019. Read more

A 20-page report prepared by animal-rights organisation SAFE has been sent to Taranaki Regional Councillors. The report outlines why the live-export trade is not only bad for animal welfare, but also for Taranaki farmers. The report will arrive on Councillors’ desks on the eve of International Awareness Day to Ban...

SAFE and the New Zealand Animal Law Association (NZALA) will appear in court today. They will demonstrate that farrowing crates violate the Animal Welfare Act 1999. By filing legal proceedings, SAFE and NZALA wish to compel the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC) and the Minister of Agriculture to act...

For the first time in New Zealand’s history the Animal Welfare Act 1999 will be tested in court. SAFE and the New Zealand Animal Law Association’s case against the Agriculture Minister and the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee will be heard on 8 June 2020 at the Wellington High Court....

Our waterways will be shattered with the sound of gunfire, as hunters injure thousands of birds when duck shooting opens this weekend. Projectiles released when a shotgun shell is fired can spread out to hit non-target birds flying nearby. These birds can lie in agony for hours until they finally...

Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor announced this morning that as part of this year’s budget the Government is to invest $5.4 million over four years to improve animal welfare. “It’s great to see the Government investing in animal welfare,” says SAFE CEO Debra Ashton. Read more

Last week a member of ‘The Great NZ Lock Up Mouse Hunt Comp’ Facebook group posted an image of a dead cat that they had caught in a trap. Another member commented on the photo, gloating about the number of cats he had killed since January, which included 25 kittens....