Media releases

Council land should not be used for greyhound racing – SAFE

September 20th, 2021

Greyhound Racing New Zealand (GRNZ) has made a proposal to lease land at QEII Park to build a new racetrack. The two other proposals for the 4-hectare section of land include a multi-sport training and entertainment complex and a range for the Christchurch Archery Club. Read more

Whanganui racetrack sees six greyhounds injured in one day – SAFE

September 20th, 2021

At a racing meet last Wednesday, six dogs were injured at the Whanganui greyhound racing track. Two of the dogs suffered broken legs, with a third suspected. Two of the dogs are undergoing x-rays to confirm. The last four races of the meeting were eventually abandoned due to poor weather....

Whistleblower exposes shocking cruelty to hens on New Zealand farm – SAFE

September 15th, 2021

A former farmworker who wishes to remain anonymous, has revealed to SAFE the horrific conditions that hens are living in at the colony cage farm ‘Northern Eggs’ in Whangarei. In May 2021, a former Northern Eggs worker approached SAFE with images showing hens left to rot in cages at the...

Pressure is mounting for a ban on greyhound racing – SAFE

September 2nd, 2021

Racing Ministry Grant Robertson has put the greyhound racing industry formally on notice following the release of a damning review of the industry. The review, which was commissioned in April 2021 and completed by Sir Bruce Robertson, shows the industry has made little improvement since the Hansen report in 2016....

Mud farming continues in the South Island

August 26th, 2021

Mud farming continues in the South Island Source: SAFE For Animals — Images and video provided to SAFE show winter grazing conditions on many farms haven’t improved in parts of Southland and Otago. The content shows sheep caked in mud, a mother cow licking her calf lying in the mud,...

Greyhound trainer fined for striking dog in front of crowd

August 18th, 2021

Greyhound trainer Francis McPhee has been fined $350 for losing his temper and striking a dog in front of spectators and rolling cameras at an Auckland racetrack last month. In a judgement realised on Thursday, the Racing Integrity Board found McPhee hit a greyhound, whose race name is Vegas Chops,...

Greyhound trainer fined for striking his dog – SAFE For Animals

August 13th, 2021

In a judgement released yesterday, the Racing Integrity Board fined Francis McPhee $350 for striking their dog Vegas Chops across her hindquarters. The incident on 11 July 2021 was in full view of spectators and broadcast across Trackside TV. This is not the first offence of its kind for Aotearoa’s...

Media release correction – Greyhound trainer fined – SAFE for Animals

August 13th, 2021

Last week Labour MP Priyanca Radhakrishnan accepted The Greyhound Protection League of New Zealand’s 37,700 signature-strong petition, calling for a ban on greyhound racing in New Zealand. SAFE’s media release earlier this morning incorrectly stated that it was SAFE’s petition. Read more

Update: Petition to ban greyhound racing handover event has moved

August 4th, 2021

Update: Petition to ban greyhound racing handover event has moved Source: SAFE For Animals — The handover event for the petition to ban greyhound racing has moved to outside the Parliamentary Library building. The event is scheduled to begin at 1pm today. Read more

Live export ship heading to Port Taranaki – SAFE

August 3rd, 2021

The live export ship Ocean Ute is on its way to Port Taranaki to export an unknown consignment of animals, presumably to China. This is the first live export ship to arrive in Taranaki since the Government confirmed that the live export trade would be phased out on 31 April...

Petition to ban greyhound racing heads to Parliament this week

August 2nd, 2021

SAFE and the Greyhound Protection League are delivering their 37,000 strong petition to Parliament on Wednesday, which calls for a ban on greyhound racing and to rehabilitate and rehome all dogs bred for racing. This petition was supported by Grey2K USA Worldwide. Read more

MPI’s failure to prosecute mass chicken deaths unacceptable – SAFE

July 28th, 2021

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has failed in its duty to enforce animal welfare by not prosecuting a farm where a power outage suffocated and killed 180,000 chickens. The incident which occurred in November 2019 has since been described as the biggest agricultural mass death event in Aotearoa’s history....

Live export by sea to continue for two years – SAFE For Animals

July 16th, 2021

SAFE is disappointed by an announcement from MPI today that exports of livestock by sea will continue until 30 April 2023. SAFE CEO Debra Ashton says they received the news via email which only outlined brief details around the transition from when the Government first made the announcement to put...

New sentence for meth doping greyhound trainer ‘won’t protect further dogs from harm’

July 14th, 2021

Angela Turnwald, the greyhound racing trainer who was fined and disqualified for four months earlier this year following a doping scandal, has now had that disqualification extended to 18 months. Turnwald’s dog Zipping Sarah tested positive for methamphetamine at a race in November last year in Christchurch. Read more

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