Each year in Aotearoa, approximately 120 million chickens are farmed for meat in industrial and factory farm conditions. Measured only in tonnes, an unknown amount of fishes* are farmed in underwater factory farms.
These animals live some of the worst lives of any farmed animals but are underrepresented when it comes to news, education and campaigns to improve the lives of animals.
We’re here to change that!
Learn about the reality of chicken and fish farming in Aotearoa, about the labels on the meat sold at retailers, about the lives of rescued chickens, and ways that you can help.
Top stories
Cracking the code on chicken meat: Why woody breast and white striping are a sign of poor farming practices
Posts on Reddit and Facebook are exposing some of the negative sides of the chicken industry.
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The life of farmed salmon in New Zealand
Read what life is like on NZ salmon farms, from the perspective of Chinny the Chinook.
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Is free range chicken meat really better?
Labels such as free range, cage-free and no added hormones can jump out at you, but what do they really mean? What kind of lives did the animals lead? Is free range chicken really better or are there even kinder choices?
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Blog Caged hens Chickens Disease Effective Altruism Eggs Environment Fishes Food Business Free-range Law Media Octopuses Plant-based Science Sentience Slaughter
Win for chickens – HELL Pizza signs the Better Chicken Commitment
This is a big deal. The HELL franchise is a huge brand with nationwide recognition; a household name known for taking strong stances.
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PM’s Mail Piles Up At Parliament: 100 Parcels For Luxon Stamped “Return To Sender”
Banned in NZ. Imported from abroad. 60% of pork from systems we prohibited. Stop cruel imports. It’s time for Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to act.
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Are chickens really killed humanely? What the chicken meat industry doesn’t want you to know.
What the chicken meat industry doesn’t want to you know about how chickens are killed by live-shackle slaughter in New Zealand.
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Government wants to cram more hens into sheds. We’ve pushed back.
We’ve submitted against proposed changes to the Layer Hen Code of Welfare that take animal welfare backwards and locks in colony cages.
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Help Them Escape This Future: Octopus Farming Ban Campaign Goes Huge in Wellington
Wellington billboards launch a global campaign as 177 organisations join Animals Aotearoa in urging NZ political parties to ban octopus factory farming.
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RSPCA Australia just raised the bar on chicken welfare. Here’s what it means for New Zealand.
RSPCA Australia has updated its chicken welfare certification scheme, opening a pathway toward the Better Chicken Commitment. Here’s what it means for New Zealand’s chicken welfare.
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Free-range chickens still suffer
While free-range certainly makes a huge difference to the welfare of pigs and hens used for egg production, it is a different story for chickens bred for meat.
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Global Progress. Healthier Chickens. Stronger Choices.
Fast-growing chicken breeds cause immense suffering. Here’s how countries and producers are changing that – and how you can help.
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Bird Flu Explained: Bird Symptoms to Food Safety, All You Need to Know
Bird flu outbreak in New Zealand – what you need to know and what it means for the birds involved in the outbreak.
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Why Nando’s is walking away from the Better Chicken Commitment
The Sustainable Chicken Forum pits sustainability against animal welfare. But a chicken industry built on Frankenchicken suffering was never sustainable to begin with.
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Prime Minister Targeted Over Inaction On Imports: Ads say “Be more Kiwi, less Ostrich”
Ad campaign launched targeting Christopher Luxon over his failure to stop imports from farming systems that are illegal in New Zealand. Luxon, be more Kiwi, less ostrich.
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Looking ahead to 2026: A message to our community about animal welfare
Animal welfare priorities in New Zealand are changing. Learn what’s shaping 2026 and why it matters for animals, people, and the future.
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Cultivated Meat in New Zealand: What You Need to Know
Cultivated meat is real meat grown in vats in a lab from animal cells, without slaughter. Learn what it means for people and the planet in New Zealand.
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Over One Million Voices Call for an End to Factory Farming
Over one million people worldwide have called on the UN to end factory farming and create a fair, sustainable food system for animals, people, and the planet.
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Horrific Footage Exposes Octopus Cruelty as NZ’s Secretive Research Continues
On World Octopus Day, undercover footage reveals that octopuses can suffer for up to 10 minutes when being slaughtered.
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* The term ‘fishes’ rather than ‘fish’ is increasingly being adopted by the animal advocacy movement to recognise and emphasise the individuality of the intelligent, feeling individuals we are describing. (The fish-farming industry only measures fishes in tonnes, rather than numbers of individuals.)