Ministry for Primary Industries compliance director Dean Baigent said the new animal welfare rules would now prevent farmers from keeping pregnant sows in stalls.

Currents are shifting, temperatures are climbing and the availability and dynamics of nutrient upwelling is changing.

Scientists investigating the rising spread of drug-resistant bugs in our homes have thrown up a hairy potential culprit: our pet pooches and moggies.

A Scottish climber has been seriously injured in a "terrifying" attack by a grizzly bear in Canada.

Photos reveal prince's heartbreak at the suffering of animals in South Africa.

A shark at least 1 metre long shocked and fascinated beach-goers when it cruised through the shallows of a popular Tauranga beach.

A midweek reminder that uphill battles can be overcome.

That fossil also happened to come from the same deposits as the world's oldest penguin, Waimanu

Traffic mayhem ensued when the pod of about six or seven orcas were spotted between Pukerua Bay and Paekakariki, north of Wellington this afternoon.

Traffic mayhem ensued when the pod of about six or seven orcas were spotted between Pukerua Bay and Paekakariki, north of Wellington.Video source: Mark Mitchell

Selfies with animals are all the rage these days - even celebrities trying their luck to get the perfect angle with wild animals.

The slaughterhouse featured on TV One's Sunday programme has insisted that the worker accused of abusing calves was fired well before the show went to air.

A woman who bound her dog's mouth to stop it barking is facing police investigation.

Two Canadian brothers were out hunting when they came across a bald eagle caught in a hunter's trap.

It's not just gym junkies getting in shape for summer - our beloved four-legged mates are also embracing the never-ending fitness craze.

It’s not just gym jumkies getting in shape for summer – our beloved four-legged mates are also embracing the never-ending fitness craze. Photographer Michael Craig spent a morning at Muriwai Beach capturing the antics of some very active pooches.

A man is offering a hefty reward for the return of his furry friend.

Residents of Timaru are turning out for a glimpse of young giraffe Shira, who arrived by ship at its port at about 2pm en route from Auckland Zoo to her new home in Christchurch.

A tiny New Zealand snail is threatening a multi-billion dollar sport fishing economy after it was found in the Great Lakes of North America.

Sometimes looking at videos of kittens on YouTube on your boss's time is just not enough to get you through the day. So the SPCA and Uber have banded together to deliver kittens across Auckland and Wellington. Today, they are visiting The Hits radio station offices.

A University of Otago student came to the rescue of a Jack Russell left in a hot car.

SPCA and Uber are teaming up to deliver kittens across New Zealand.

Police responding to calls of a domestic violence incident arrive to find an unexpected victim - a spider.

Shira, who was born at the zoo in 2013, is being transferred to Christchurch's Orana Wildlife Park

Supplied/Uber

Cats abandoned in cardboard box were moments from being put in waste crusher.

About 70 people are protesting outside the Environment Court in Auckland this morning against a new chicken farm proposed for Patumahoe, near Pukekohe.

Timaru has a tall order coming its way - as Auckland Zoo's two-year-old giraffe Shira begins a three-day sea voyage south this morning.