A diplomatic gift of an elephant risks becoming a nightmare for the NZ Government as groups take legal action to stop the animal coming to Auckland Zoo.

Claudio Da Costa, 47, told MPI investigators he used scissors because it was a 'quick and cheap fix for the problem'.

Tourists visiting Thailand are urged not to take selfies with slow loris animals after one was found with his teeth ripped out.

Businesses needs to recognise that when it's granted the right to operate, it has to accept the responsibilities of acting in a sustainable way.

A litter of 11 young puppies has been found soaking wet and cold on a pathway after being dumped in Porirua.

New Zealand's greyhound racing body is defending the sport as it is practised here after today's announcement it would be banned in New South Wales and the ACT.

Report into greyhound racing in NSW "shone a light on sickening animal mistreatment".

More than 100 schools across the country have signed up to an SPCA programme aimed at reducing animal abuse. Teachers can include

Taumarunui's Kevin Groves has admitted leaving his cattle to starve to death on his rural property.

Under a full moon and clear skies on an unseasonably warm evening in late June, I am hiking across Otata Island in The Noises.

A large diesel spill at Takapuna's Lake Pupuke has raised concerns for birds and wildlife.

Jennifer Layton was disqualified by the council of owning a dog for five years from October 2013, but after a third appeal that time has been halved.

Shocking footage has emerged of a shark being dragged out of the water so a group of tourists could take photographs with it.

A family got a little closer to nature than they bargained for when a bear opened their car door at Yellowstone National Park.

COMMENT: How we treat animals matters, not just to animals, but to ourselves and overseas markets.

COMMENT: The dairy industry does not want the cheese-eating world-wide public to know about its disposal of unwanted bobby calves, writes Mandy Carter,

Days after a young boy fell into the gorilla exhibit at the Cincinnati zoo - prompting the zoo's decision to shoot and kill a 17-year-old gorilla -- archived video has emerged showing a similar incident 20 years ago, with a very different outcome. Source: WGN-TV

They've said it before and it looks like they'll have to say it again - don't get too close to the animals.

COMMENT: The Government should be proactive and appoint an independent Commissioner for Animal Welfare, writes Catriona MacLennan. Not only to prosecute animal cruelty, but also comprehensive monitoring of animal welfare.

A major environmental group wants to see more money for conservation funding amid Thursday's Budget announcements.

In a new Reddit thread, rangers reveal "the stupidest things they've ever seen a tourist do in a national park".

Despite your best intentions, it's probably not a good idea to put a wild animal in the back of your car - even if you're concerned it might be cold.

Thanks to kindhearted vet staff, this curious kitten has found his feet again.

A Waikato piggery is facing cruelty charges after 25 pigs were left injured in the alleged overcrowded site, while three had to be put down.

COMMENT: As with all good stories there are two sides. In this case there is the duck and the hunter. I am interested in the duck's side, writes Lynley Tulloch.

Top travel website TripAdvisor has been accused of "profiting from the world's cruelest animal attractions" by an international animal welfare charity.

A farmhand did not face animal cruelty charges because a council wrongly said drowning possums was a humane way to kill them.

COMMENT: Catriona MacLennan asks, why does NZ not ban tethering? An outright ban would send a clear message about how goat welfare can best be protected.

Caged Chicken Farms - and Auckland's skyline.

Warning: Content may disturb. Animal advocacy activists have released shocking undercover footage from a colony egg farm that shows dead hens rotting in their cages and dying hens trapped beneath perches.