Latest from Pets & Animals

'No breach' after wall falls on monkeys
No animals have escaped from their enclosures at Auckland Zoo, despite earlier reports of a containment breach.

Dolphin sanctuary on line
Auckland councillors have been bombarded with more than 200,000 emails urging them to oppose the latest proposed oil exploration plan.

Redback find worries pest control man
A Rotorua pest control expert hopes he won't come across any more highly dangerous spiders after the discovery of a female redback in a garden.

Jonathan Wilcken and Karen Fifield: Zoos in it for good of the animals
The criticism over the inability to replicate the wild in zoos is misplaced. It’s a cruel world out there, but we can help, write Jonathan Wilcken and Karen Fifield.

Lion Man hits back at critics
A war of words has broken out between big cat conservationists, with Lion Man Craig Busch hitting back at South African critics who claimed he abused his animals.

Inside the 2015 Puppy Bowl
For the 11th year, Animal Planet's Puppy Bowl showcases the athletic talents of adorable puppies.

Is it a doxbull or a pitwee?
It may look like a Photoshop effort, but Rami the dog really does have the head of a pit bull and the body of a dachshund.

Allison Benedikt: If you're having a baby, don't get a dog
When I first met Velvel, he was peeking out from a cardboard box in the back seat of my boyfriend’s Saturn wagon.

Dead puppy in suitcase 'suspicious'
The death of a puppy found inside a suitcase in a Milton cemetery is being treated as suspicious, a SPCA Otago inspector says.

Talk to the Animals: Why do people hoard animals?
At what point does an individual go from pet enthusiast to 'animal hoarder'? Animal behaviour expert Sally Hibbard investigates.

Owner shocked after his buried 'dead' cat returns from the grave
A US cat owner has been left baffled after he claimed his "dead" pet turned up five days after being buried.

21 days to get rid of 22 cats
'The time has come for reality to sink in,' said a judge as he ordered an Invercargill woman to dispose of 22 of cats.

Claws out over Lion Man's new park
"He wants to promote himself, make money out of it at the cost of the animals." The Lion Man's shift to South Africa has upset the conservation community there.

Talk to the Animals: Put a stop to chained dogs
What I find most frustrating about the all too common practice of chaining up dogs for months and even years on end is the pointlessness of it.

Invercargill 'cat lady' denies charges
An Invercargill woman went to great lengths to hide her face yesterday during a court hearing over the 25 cats she keeps on her property.

Mandy Carter: Animals deserve a life free of bars
Most animal species in zoos are not endangered and are merely kept for public entertainment and zoo profit, writes Mandy Carter.

SPCA boss in hot water
The executive director of SPCA Auckland has stood by his comments that ethnicity plays a part in the high number of dog attack convictions in South Auckland.

Man sentenced after he punched, kicked cow
A Reefton man who punched and kicked a cow at the Cape Foulwind dairy farm where he worked has been sentenced to community detention and community work.

30 years of underwater wonder
The king penguins huddle together, protecting their eggs from the cold, as others waddle across the ice into the water.

Warning to Barrier fishers on threat to rare petrel
As the rare and endangered black petrel nests on Great Barrier Island over summer, fishers have been asked to remain on guard to avoid accidentally hooking them.

'It has 300 teeth over 25 rows'
A rare and terrifying frilled shark has been pulled from the water by fishermen near Lakes Entrance in Victoria, Australia.

'Unhappy' gibbon put down
One of Auckland Zoo's two siamang gibbons has been put down, ending an 11-year life in which he was believed to have been severely depressed.

Owner prolonged puppy's suffering
Puppy was severely injured when it fell off the back of its owner’s ute and was dragged along a road.

Shark encounters plague NSW beaches
'That's so scary, man' said a fisherman whose boat was nudged by a five-metre great white shark. Beaches along NSW have been closed by continued sightings.

DoC rejects 1080 claims
Claims that the high-profile pest control campaign "Battle For Our Birds" wiped out a group of nationally endangered birds are unfounded, the Department of Conservation says.

Manly latest beach now off limits
A shark sighting has led to Sydney's Manly beach becoming the latest to be declared a dangerzone, with lifeguards urging people to get out of the water on yesterday afternoon.

Sharks keep NSW beaches closed
Beaches along the Newcastle coast are expected to remain closed as spotters continue to scour the sea for two sharks.

Heather du Plessis Allen: Pet or pest a cultural view
Chances are you've probably never heard of Kid Rock. He's not the kind of character who appeals here.

Pool wins seal of approval
Stunned staff and some 100 swimmers watched in disbelief as a fun-loving sea lion waddled through reception and cafe to "swim laps" in a public pool yesterday.