News

High-end Auckland restaurant Pasture has been selling live crayfish as part of their produce boxes, but what does that mean for the crayfish? Just like mammals, crayfish have a nervous system that is capable of feeling pain. They have sensory and opioid receptors and demonstrate reduced responses to painful procedures...

Yesterday, Colorado became the seventh US state to ban the caging of hens. The new law will spare roughly six million hens a lifetime of confinement in cages so small and barren that they are unable to perform their most basic natural behaviours, like fully stretching out their wings and...

Paris Waterworth is SAFE’s Campaigns Assistant and resident legal expert. She was admitted to the bar in 2019. In this series, Paris will be demystifying legal processes and shedding light on how court proceedings can translate into real-world justice for animals like mother pigs. For the first time in New...

The demand for plant-based protein is growing internationally, and the Government should seize the opportunity to include this in their economic stimulus package, says animal rights organisation SAFE. KPMG global head of agribusiness Ian Proudfoot yesterday told the Epidemic Response Committee that COVID-19 would accelerate a move towards lab-based meats...

SAFE is calling out Taranaki Regional Council (TRC) chief executive Basil Chamberlain for saying animal activists got it wrong. The chief executive claimed that Port Taranaki, which in January began facilitating the export of live animals, has an independent board of directors. Read more

Happy Earth Day! There are many ways to celebrate Earth Day, but this year we are facing a few extra challenges, due to us mainly being stuck at home. You may be wondering what you can do to mark this special day. The great thing is that for many of...

The live animal export ship Yangtze Harmony arrived in Port Taranaki yesterday to collect 4,450 cows, expected to depart tomorrow. This is the third live export ship to berth in New Plymouth this year. SAFE and other local groups want to see the practice of live export come to an...

Paris Waterworth is SAFE’s Campaigns Assistant and resident legal expert. She was admitted to the bar in 2019. In this series, Paris will be demystifying legal processes and shedding light on how court proceedings can translate into real-world justice for animals like mother pigs. SAFE and the New Zealand Animal...

Farrowing crates, which confine mother pigs kept on factory farms, violate the Animal Welfare Act 1999, and for the first time in New Zealand history the Act will be tested in court. SAFE and the New Zealand Animal Law Association (NZALA) filed court proceedings against the Agriculture Minister and the...

In the midst of worldwide COVID-19 isolation, Netflix dropped a limited series which has gripped the imagination of many: Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness. The titular ‘Tiger King,’ Joe Exotic, has become a polarising and popular figure on the memescape of Instagram in the week since the show aired....

The pig meat industry is struggling to store its meat while independent butchers are closed during the COVID-19 lockdown. “The Government needs to stop the insemination of sows if the industry is struggling to house pigs,” says Campaigns Manager Marianne Macdonald. Read more

As we begin a month of lockdown, many people are anxious about what this will mean for our food security. The Government has acknowledged that the animal farming sector as “essential” to feeding New Zealand and the world. But taking a step back, is the answer to our current crisis...

We are in new territory. In New Zealand, we are working together as a country to stop the spread of COVID-19. With the decisive and compassionate guidance of our Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, I think we are doing all the right things. But once this pandemic is under control, it...

Right now is a really great time to be focusing on taking care of yourself. We’ve put together some deliciously helpful ways to assist your body in building up it’s natural defences, so you and your household stay healthy and nourished. It probably comes to no surprise that fruits, vegetables,...