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Greyhound racing is facing a new scandal, following revelations made by Newshub that indicate potential neglect and mistreatment at a kennel belonging to one of the industry’s most prolific trainers.  The ban on live export faced a small bump in the road recently, but it looks like it will still become law in due course.  And the Government is proposing a ban on farrowing crates, following a successful court case back in 2020, bought by the New Zealand Animal Law Association and SAFE. Make a submission on the new code of welfare for pigs and demand a ban on farrowing crates. References Racing regulator inquires into condition of dogs owned by John McInerney, NZ's most prolific greyhound trainer - Newshub, 4 May 2022 Racing regulator issued up to 300 warnings to greyhound trainers over health and welfare failures in under a year - Newshub, 5 May 2022 Ban on live exports deadlocked at select committee, but likely to pass - NZ Herald, 19 April 2022 Morning Rural News for 2 May 2022 - RNZ NZ Pork: draft welfare code could be lethal for piglets, industry - NBR, 1 May 2022

On this week's episode of Animal Matters, we chat with Abigail Penny, the UK Executive Director at Animal Equality. Animal Equality is an international animal protection organisation, and they’re most well known for their undercover investigations. Those investigations recently fed into a BBC Panorama documentary that aired in February, which exposed the UK’s dairy industry. The documentary sparked considerable debate in the UK thanks in large part to the damning undercover footage, gathered by Animal Equality. Not only did it expose examples of cruel and illegal behaviour, but it also showcased the inherently cruel farming practices that are considered normal, industry-standard behaviour.    BBC Panorama documentary - "A Cow's Life: The True Cost of Milk?" A short edit of Animal Equality's undercover footage used in the documentary can be found on their website.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has released its latest report, and it’s not great. We have a lot to do. But New Zealand officials successfully lobbied against the use of plant-based terminology, which begs the question, did our officials miss the point?  And greyhound racing is working harder than ever to improve their public appearance, to such an extent that they’re excluding New Zealand’s leading animal welfare agency from their animal welfare committee. Climate change: IPCC scientists say it's 'now or never' to limit warming - RNZ, 5 April 2022 Climate change: IPCC scientist warns world 'pretty much out of time' to limit warming - RNZ, 5 April 2022 IPCC report: Climate campaigner urges voters to push government and companies to act - RNZ, 6 April 2022 Groundswell refuses to meet prime minister alongside other groups, as ructions surface inside agriculture faction - Stuff, 30 March 2022 Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern gives up on Groundswell talks after they refuse to meet with other groups present - Newshub, 1 April 2022 NZ scrubbed ‘plant-based’ diets from climate report - Newsroom, 9 April 2022 Greyhound industry criticised after dog euthanised - Stuff, 22 March 2022 SPCA gone from greyhound racing welfare committee as deaths in industry continue - Stuff, 25 March 2022

Live pigs delivered to your door. That’s what some businesses are offering in the Auckland and Waikato regions. The advice these businesses are giving to kill these pigs is illegal though, and bears an airy resemblance to a British TV ad that many considered was ‘vegan propaganda’.  And the equestrian industry has been caught up in more PR disasters, and one such situation involved one of Aotearoa’s most famous horse riders.  Ministry for Primary Industries investigating multiple live pig selling businesses over animal cruelty claims - Newshub, 5 March 2020.  'Showing a pig with a meat cleaver is disgusting': Backlash at 'controversial' vegan TV advert in which couple receive a live pig and the weapon to kill it as a takeaway order - Daily Mail, 21 February 2022. Farmers slam UK's new trade deal with New Zealand - Daily Mail, 1 March 2022.  New Zealand trade deal critical to set welfare red line - RSPCA, 3 September 2021. Equestrian Sports NZ expresses disappointment at social media video of Sir Mark Todd's horse abuse - Newshub, 13 February 2022. MPI among those investigating horse rider’s actions - Otago Daily Times, 1 March 2022. Chinese SOE pushes NZ for U-turn on live export ban - Newsroom, 11 February 2022. Chinese companies lobby New Zealand to continue with live cattle exports - Stuff, 16 February 2022. 

Christine Dorchak is the President and General Counsel at GREY2K USA Worldwide, a non-profit committed to protecting greyhounds and working to end the cruelty of dog racing.

Today on the show I’m chatting with Irina Miller, Daisy Lab’s co-found and CEO. We’ve talked about Daisy Lab before in episode 53. They’re a food technology start up based right here in Aotearoa, that seeks to use precision fermentation to make dairy products, like cheese, without the use of animals.

Horse racing has managed to avoid much of the scrutiny that greyhound racing faced in 2021, but a string of recent incidents show that the horse racing industry isn’t without its faults either.  And a last minute shipment from Timaru rounded out a bumper year for the live export industry, which is showing few signs of slowing down despite a ban on the horizon. Who won New Zealand sport in 2021? - New Zealand Herald, 30 December 2021 Impressive Hastings-trained winner's racing career cut short - New Zealand Herald, 20 January 2022 Champion jockey Danielle Johnson suffers broken leg, top horse Gold Watch put down after horror fall - Stuff, 1 January 2022 German horse trainer won't be prosecuted for punching horse at Tokyo Olympics  - Newshub, 13 January 2022 Livestock vessel set to load more than 10,000 cattle bound for China in Timaru - Stuff, 29 December 2021

Two years on from a power outage that lead to the deaths of almost 200,000 chickens, and we finally have some answers. But despite answers, we still have no accountability. And the Animal Welfare Amendment Bill that will prohibit live exports by sea is moving through a Parliamentary Select Committee. And there are signs that the live export industry will fight tooth over nail before the Bill becomes law.

A new Kiwi startup is raising funds to employ more researches on their quest to bring new dairy products to the market, but without milking a single cow. And COVID-19 is wrecking havoc on the events industry, but there’s a silver lining. It’s wrecking havoc on animal abusing rodeo events as well.

Guy Fawkes has come and gone, but you’d be forgiven for missing it. The exit of The Warehouse from the fireworks market and supply chain issues has meant smaller retailers have struggled to meet demand. And the most recent New Zealand Trotting Cup in Christchurch was errily quiet due to COVID-19 restrictions. But the impacts of the coronavirus on the wider racing industry is little relief for animals.

This feature documentary exposes the whitewash of Aotearoa’s multi-billion-dollar dairy industry. Amy and Chris co-produced the film, and it follows Chris as he travels around the country exploring the truth about how the dairy industry has become the nation’s biggest threat. Milked premiers in Aotearoa this weakened at the New Zealand International Film Festival. Milked screening times Milked trailer Milked Facebook Milked Instagram Milked Twitter

Animal Advocacy Africa is a capacity-building program that supports organisations and advocates to develop and grow the animal advocacy movement in Africa. According to Animal Advocacy Africa, the continent is currently home to approximately 3.2 billion farmed animals, and given its rising population and urbanisation, a shift toward intensive animal farming practices looks inevitable. The African Landscape Research Report by Lynn Tan is published on Animal Advocacy Africa's website in full. 

This week, SAFE published and open letter to the Agriculture Minister, signed by oer 250 veterinary professionals, who all want a ban on colony cages. And last week, SAFE launched a new campaign called ‘fishes belong in the sea’. This is a new area for SAFE, so we’ll dive into what this campaign is all about.

The Greyhound racing industry has had a double blow in the last few weeks. One of it’s race tracks is facing closure, and another potential new track has failed to even get off the ground. And Aotearoa has been silently battling an outbreak of salmonella in the chicken meat and egg industry. Now the industry is facing tighter rules in an attempt to stamp out the disease.

Kelly started Free as a Bird in 2013, and since then the non profit organisation has rescued, rehabilitated and rehomed tens of thousands of hens, many of them rescued from battery and colony cages.

Last week we bought you the interview with a former Northern Eggs employee, who spoke out about the appalling treatment of hens at the colony cage farm. Today we’ll bring you the latest on that story. And the greyhound racing industry is still grappling with doping and dog injuries, and now they want to build a new track at Christchurch’s beloved QEII Park.

On this week's episode of Animal Matters, Will Appelbe speaks with a whistleblower who used to work at Northern Eggs, a colony cage farm near Whangarei. This brave informant put themselves at great personal risk to expose the cruelty that's currently occurring at the colony cage farm. This episode of Animal Matters contains graphic content that may be distressing. 

Last week, in his capacity as Minister for Racing, Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson gave the greyhound racing industry an ultimatimum upon the release of the greyhound racing review. It was a scathing review, and today we’ll take a look at its findings and what it means for the future of greyhound racing. Minister for Racing Grant Robertson’s interview sourced from Radio New Zealand. Review into Greyhound Racing in New Zealand, Hon Sir Bruce Robertson, 30 July 2021.Report to New Zealand Racing Board on welfare issues affecting greyhound racing in New Zealand, Hon Rodney Hansen CNZM QC.

This week on Animal Matters, Will Appelbe chats with Luiza Schneider, Vice President of Investigations at Mercy for Animals. Schneider is a former investigator, and now works with their brave investigations team to expose cruelty on factory farms.

This week on Animal Matters, Will Appelbe recaps the latest from the greyhound racing industry, as well as an animal sanctuary's desperate mission to rescue animals in Afghanistan. Also, what to do if your companion animal breaches their bubble.