News

The Egg Producers Federation’s voluntary ‘Trace My Egg’ programme, which claims to reduce the fraudulent labelling of eggs, will not prevent egg producers and suppliers from misleading customers. SAFE Corporate Campaigns Coordinator Jessica Chambers said ‘Trace My Egg’ is a strictly voluntary, high trust system that should be taken with...

Last night’s Political Panel for Animals far exceeded my expectations. After seeing it, I am more optimistic than ever that we will get a win on colony cages ‒ if we keep pushing. It wasn’t the politicians that had me so excited. It was the little things. When it comes...

On Friday, animal rights activists from all around the country, representing various New Zealand Animal Save Movement chapters, as well as guests from SAFE New Zealand and Direct Action Everywhere New Zealand, will be protesting the Canadian High Commission in Wellington, demanding accountability for the death of Animal Save activist...

A bad couple of weeks for the dairy industry. We cover some of the latest current affairs, including the light sentencing of animal abuser Mike Luke, as well as a Dairy Industry Award winner who was stripped of his title due to profane and disrespectful t

With only two months left until the general election, SAFE has convened a political panel to discuss the most pertinent issues facing animals in Aotearoa New Zealand today. The panellists will include Hon Damien O’Connor, MP (Labour), Hon David Bennett, MP (National), Gareth Hughes, MP (Greens) and Mark Patterson, MP...

In an article published last week in Farmers Weekly, Australian live animal export company Austrex NZ advocated for the export of four-day old calves as an alternative to being ‘tapped on the head,’ referring to the use of a blunt force trauma. SAFE Campaigns Manager Marianne Macdonald said the export...

Nick Bertram was named Share Farmer of the Year on Saturday. OPINION: When Tararua sharemilker Nick Bertram was crowned 2020 Share Farmer of the Year, nobody could have predicted how quickly his victory would turn sour – except the judges who awarded him the title. Read more

Share Farmer of the Year Nick Bertram has been stripped of his award. Tararua dairy farmer Nick Bertram says he is a victim of “cancel culture” after being stripped of his Share Farmer of the Year title over a series of offensive tweets. Bertram and his wife, Rose, took out...

SAFE CEO Debra Ashton says “The NZDIA has done the right thing, and we’re glad to see Bertram has been held to account over his actions. He should take this as an opportunity to right his wrongs and show that he takes animal welfare seriously.” “However, the award organisers should...

With this year’s duck shooting season starting on Saturday, an animal rights group says 200,000 birds will be maimed and left to die in agony over the course of the season. But hunters have defended the sport, insisting the group’s “numbers simply don’t add up” and do not reflect reality....

As the racing industry continues to toast a mega-million dollar financial shot in the arm, New Zealand animal welfare groups are outraged, shocked and angry over the taxpayer-funded bailout. As strange as it sounds given New Zealand is facing so many post-Covid-19 issues, the racing support package – announced by...

A case over the treatment of pigs in New Zealand will be in court in less than two weeks. Pat Baskett takes a look at the potential impacts of the outcome. Phoebe was a pig I wrote about some years ago. Her life was a misery. She lived in a...

Two animal welfare organisations have gone to court to improve the protection of pigs. File image. Photo: 123RF One of them is SAFE, or Save Animals from Exploitation, which is renowned for its high profile campaigns against the like of abuse of bobby calves and keeping chickens in cages. Read...

Photos allegedly taken by a Fiordland resident and supplied by Safe show cows in mud-filled paddocks with no shelter. Photos of cows in muddy conditions show the “outrageous failure” by officials to act on winter grazing practices, an animal rights group says. Read more