On the 23 March 2020, the New Zealand Government announced that in 48 hours the country would go into what they called a lockdown where only the essential businesses such as supermarkets, pharmacies, and emergency services were to remain open. All non-essential services and shops were to shut. That included movie theatres, gyms, playgrounds, cafes,…
DetailsMany moons ago my Uncle ‘volun’-told my little brother and I to kill a pig for a family feast. We killed it by placing a metal pipe across its throat, and pressed it down until the pig suffocated. To this day I vividly remember the look of terror, distress and fear in the eyes of…
DetailsKia ora everyone, my name is Deirdre Sims, I’m an animal rights activist with the grassroots group Direct Animal Action. I’ve been an animal rights activist and a vegan for 15 years in Tāmaki Makaurau – and today – I want to talk to you about women. Specifically the women in our movement for animals.…
DetailsIn September 2017, I was contacted by an anonymous source about a proposed mega farm that would be built in Orini, North Waikato. The mega farm would produce eggs from 400,000 hens housed indoors, in a new type of system that isn’t well established in New Zealand. The new system, called multi-tiered aviary, produces eggs…
DetailsOver the years as an animal activist, I’ve documented many meat chicken factory farms across New Zealand, because I know the animals are suffering behind closed doors and I want New Zealanders to know exactly what is happening. People need to know, and these days they want to know, where their food comes from. The…
DetailsKia ora everyone, my name is Deirdre Sims, I’m a campaigner with Direct Animal Action. We’re a grassroots animal rights group based here in Auckland. We run campaigns designed to pressure the Government to make positive legislative change for animals. We also run campaigns designed to pressure animal abuse industries to change. When I say…
DetailsWe are very sad to share the news that one of our supporters who was instrumental in the founding of Direct Animal Action has passed away. Justin Tate left us this month but he is still with us in our hearts and minds. Justin was our tech whiz who helped us set up our email…
DetailsThe cull of 22,000 cattle infected with Mycoplasma bovis is a tragedy about to unfold but the silver lining may be the opportunity it presents to our farmers. For too long New Zealand has relied largely on dairy production. This industry is coming under progressively more market threat from the expanding home production capacity of…
DetailsI got involved in grassroots animal rights activism in Auckland about 15 years ago. I met my first animal activists at a SAFE volunteer meeting and then went on to get involved in the local grassroots group active at the time, Auckland Animal Action (AAA). Meeting these activists at SAFE and AAA changed me from…
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