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Kelly started Free as a Bird in 2013, and since then the non profit organisation has rescued, rehabilitated and rehome 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.

It’s a quick episode today. We’ll discuss the most recent debate concerning the live export ban, as well as MPI’s most recent disappointing decision not to prosecute a farm that saw hundreds of thousands of chickens to suffocate in it’s sheds.

Today on the show Will Appelbe chats with Emma Hurst, Member of Parliament for the Animal Justice Party in New South Wales, Australia. The Animal Justice Party is Australia's sole political party dedicated to animal rights, and Emma Hurst is one of two Animal Justice candidates in the New South Wales Legislative Council.

Last week, the New Zealand Animal Law Association and SAFE filed legal proceedings against the Government for their failure to end rodeo events. We’ll cover the recent history that’s led to this landmark moment, and why these two groups are seeking a decision from the courts.

In this week's episode, Will Appelbe sits down with Green Party MP and animal welfare spokesperson Chlöe Swarbrick, to discuss greyhound racing, live export and the occupation at Pūtiki Bay.

Sign the Free Hens From Cages petition.

Today we recap the last two weeks, including the 50th anniversary of the Silver Collar greyhound race which saw a dog break his leg, and delays to the Government's announcement of the phase out date for livestock exports by sea.

This week on Animal Matters, Will Appelbe sits down with Shanti Ahluwalia from the New Zealand Anti-Vivisection Society (NZAVS) to talk about Aotearoa's relationship with animal testing.

The Waikato District Council are taking drastic measures to manage a large population of geese. Without investigating better options, they announced they would use poison, but have since had to make a U turn after realising it wouldn’t work. And Angela Turnwald, the greyhound trainer who’s dog tested positive for methamphetamine, is back before the kangaroo court, defending an appeal to have her disqualification extended.

Philip McKibbin's writing has been published in The Spinoff, The Guardian, Stuff, NZ Herald among many other publications. In 2018 he co-organised ‘The Politics of Love: A Conference’ at All Souls College at the University of Oxford.  The Politics of Love is a radical vision of politics, a vision that can make a difference to the lives of animals. Here are the links for the Politics of Love: The Politics of Love website: https://thepoliticsoflove.com/ Philip McKibbin's Website: http://www.philip-mckibbin.com/   Facebook (Philip McKibbin): philipmckibbinanz Facebook (Politics of Love): thepoliticsoflove Twitter (Philip McKibbin): philip_mckibbin Twitter (Politics of Love): tematapunaaroha Instagram (Politics of Love): thepoliticsoflove

Last week, the Government released it’s annual budget, setting out what initiatives would be allocated new spending. Despite the deficits in animal welfare in New Zealand, not a single dollar was allocated for animal welfare spending.

Today on the show we sit down with Aysha Akhtar, who is the President and CEO of the US based Center for Contemporary Sciences. Aysha has had an illustrious career in public health and is now putting her expertise towards ending animal testing and advocating for a transition to human-specific medical research.

The racing industry has been rocked by doping scandals in recent weeks. Unfortunately, these people are escaping criminal charges. This week we dive into how the racing industry police’s itself.

The report, Farmed Animal Welfare Law in New Zealand, was commissioned by the New Zealand Animal Law Association (NZALA), with support from the New Zealand Law Foundation and Lush. Some background to the report, in 2019 SAFE and the NZALA, filed Judicial Review Proceedings against the Government for their failure to act on the on-going use of farrowing crates. In a judgement released last year, the High Court ruled that the Minister of Agriculture and the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC) acted illegally when they failed to phase out the use of farrowing crates for mother pigs. The traditional use of farrowing crates will now be phased out.While preparing for that case, the NZALA found many inconsistencies between the Animal Welfare Act and subordinate legislation, like the Code of Welfare for pigs which allowed the use of farrowing crates. That prompted them to commission this report. 

April has been a massive month for animals, both the good and the bad. It’s been a while since our last podcast, thanks in part to some of the announcements that have come out of the beehive this month. This includes a ban on the export of live animals by sea, and a review of the greyhound racing industry.