A pilot programme at Hawke's Bay Regional Prison is saving dogs earmarked to be put down and giving them a "second chance" at life.

A Whangarei cat owner, who had her cat's leg amputated after it was shot with a pellet gun, fears someone is on a shooting crusade and targeting animals.

The greyhound meeting at Addington Raceway on Friday was raided by animal control officers from three councils in the first New Zealand blitz on unregistered dogs at a track.

A roadkill cat that has been stuffed and turned into a rug has sold for almost $1000.

The sale of a stuffed cat as a taxidermic skin rug has upset animal advocates who say the TradeMe auction is in bad taste and disturbing.

Introducing new species is a valuable tool for controlling pests, but although there have been some stunning successes, it can go badly wrong, writes Jacqueline Beggs.

A Landcare Research scientist is urging those who carry out rabbit poisoning programmes to consider also getting rid of the feral cats that feed on them.

A researcher embarking on the country's biggest shark-tagging exercise says New Zealand is lacking scientific data about its rapidly declining shark populations

The owners of a seafaring cat who was presumed drowned after falling overboard were amazed to be reunited with their pet nearly five weeks later.

A pest control programme on land near Lake Wanaka has eradicated almost 700 pests - including a cat compared in size to a panther - in little more than a year.

A comprehensive study into the mass mortality of yellow-eyed penguins on Otago Peninsula this summer is needed if the endangered species is to survive on the region's shores, University of Otago Associate Prof Phil Seddon says.

Slaughterman Kent Sambells' workload was "hectic" last week as Waikato farmers called him in to destroy ailing cattle and take them away for processing into pet food.

North Shore residents say somebody is poisoning hungry sparrows and leaving them to die on roads and footpaths.

Liz Light visits Ralph Hotere's final Hokianga home.

Eco-tourism is popping up all over India. Liz Light goes birdwatching.

While the world is focused on the dramatic campaign to stop Japanese whaling in Antarctic waters, conservationists are focused on a less known threat to marine mammals. And this time the target is the US Navy.

An American proposal to offer more protection to polar bears by prohibiting trade in their skins has failed at a major conservation conference.

The Auckland Council says it will not tolerate people eeling in public parks after an eel trap was recently found at Western Springs.

A British university student who fried a hamster has been ordered to do 120 hours of community service.

The road-hugging habit of a rare flightless bird could put a spoke in the wheel of the Department of Conservation's plan to open the roads of Auckland's Rangitoto and Motutapu Islands for a year-round mountain biking venture.

A solo mother has been left with a $10,500 bill after her pet's neck was broken in an attack by another dog whose owner has failed to fulfil a promise to foot the bill.

Shark attacks have a profound effect on those who face the ferocity. After last week's shock death of Adam Strange, Amelia Wade talks to three survivors of ocean savagery.