Miscellaneous Articles

It has been so inspiring to see all the kind things our Animal Squad members have done for animals this year. To say ‘thank you’ we have sent out a special edition newsletter to all of our members. This one is all about our greyhound friends. Hear from Vinnie the rescued race dog and how you can help greyhounds like him, plus heaps more!

We have also released a new competition just in time for the holidays. All you need to do is complete any action in our Action Kit to help end greyhound racing, snap a photo and upload it to our website. Six lucky winners will each receive a brand-new Garmin Vivofit Jr. Fitness Tracker smart watch. Submit your greyhound actions by 31 January to be in to win.

We have six Garmin Vivofit Jr 2 smart watches to give away!

Competition details

Submit photos of your action for greyhounds through any action in the Animal Squad Action Kit to enter this competition. Submissions close on 31 January 2021. This competition is open to those aged from 8 to 14. You must have consent from your caregiver, who must agree to our terms and conditions, before submitting your documents or photos. You can enter as many times as you like. This competition is open only to kids who live in New Zealand.

SAFE will select six winners. Each winner will receive a Garmin Vivofit Jr. Fitness Tracker smart watch of their design choice. Design choices will be subject to online availability and may differ from those shown above. A Whitcoulls voucher to the value of $139 can be substituted for this prize at the winner’s request. Winners will be announced on our website before 15 February 2021.

If you would like to know about future colouring competitions, sign up to SAFE Animal Squad to get the latest news. SAFE Animal Squad membership is free. Members receive our latest Animal Bites newsletters and news about upcoming competitions.

Thank you to everyone who entered our latest competitions.

We were blown away by the talent shown in these competitions and choosing winners certainly wasn’t easy. It is wonderful to see so many kind kids who are passionate about showing their kindness towards animals.

A massive congratulations to our winners and to all those who entered!

Our three ‘Be Kind to Animals’ colouring competition winners are:

Prue, aged 5

Elena, aged 9

Liana, aged 11

A special thank you to Edgar’s Mission for making this colouring competition possible.

Our six Action Kit competition winners are:

And finally, thank you for all those who participated in our recent survey. Georgia from Lower Hutt has been drawn to win a $100 book voucher!

If you would like to know about future colouring competitions, sign-up to SAFE Animal Squad to get the latest news. SAFE Animal Squad membership is free. Members receive our latest Animal Bites newsletters, our Animal Activist Handbook and Animal Squad news.

We have just released our latest Animal Bites newsletter, all about frogs! In this issue you can learn some amazing facts about our amphibious friends. We also talk about how animals don’t belong in the classroom and how you can help them out. Can’t wait to get it in the mail?

We have a few new competitions and activities for you to do, too:

Pledge to go dairy-free ‒ we are asking kind kids to pledge to go dairy-free for a whole month. Each kid who makes the pledge will be sent some cool Animal Squad stickers, as well as a few extra goodies.

Action Kit competition ‒ show off your plant-based vegan cooking or baking skills to show your love for animals. Simply follow a vegan recipe, snap a photo and upload it through the Action Kit on our website. Our dairy-free cupcake recipe included in this pack is the perfect sweet treat! We have six awesome prize packs to give away. What are you waiting for? Entries close 1 November.

Be Kind to Animals colouring competition ‒ we have teamed up with Edgar’s Mission, an animal sanctuary in Australia. Complete this competition as part of their Be Kind to Animals week and be in to win one of three awesome prize packs. Entries close 30 October.

Want to learn more about Be Kind to Animals week, including what you can do to get involved?

Have your say – we want to know how you think we are doing. More importantly, we want to know how we can do even better! Have your say by completing our online survey and be in to win a $100 book voucher.

Not a member yet? If you would like to receive this newsletter, as well as a heads up on any upcoming activities, giveaways and competitions, you can sign up to Animal Squad today. Membership is 100% free.

Thanks to everyone who entered the animal photography competition. We had over 400 entries!

We considered each photo carefully. Every single entry showed us a glimpse of just how much you love animals.

Our six winners, who will each receive a prize pack, are:

	🐶  Angus – 6 My dog sleeps in my room on a bed I made for her out of boxes and she likes it. I love all animals. My Dad says we have no more room for more rescue animals but my Mum thinks we do.
	🐶  Charlotte – 9 This is my dog Toby. He is 12 years old but still acts like a puppy! My mum helped me by running with Toby so I could take this photo.
	🐱  Freya – 10 This is a photo of my kitten Oreo. I am vegetarian and I love animals. I tell everyone not to hurt or eat them.
	🐦  Aaliyah – 12 I’ve enjoyed photography since I was little. At the moment I love taking photos of birds, especially around my house. There’s so many different ones.
	🌊  Matthew – 13 I took this photo in Kaikoura on my way to Picton. We stopped to visit the seal colony.
	🐶  Briar – 13 This is a photo of my dog getting her tennis ball from the pond in our backyard. I want animals to be looked after never mistreated.

A big congratulations to our winners and to all those who entered! Winners will each receive one of our amazing prize packs. Check out the rest of the amazing submissions:

Go to animal photography action

If you would like to know about future colouring competitions, sign up for free to SAFE Animal Squad. Members receive our latest Animal Bites newsletters, the heads up on upcoming competitions and other Animal Squad news.

Sign up to SAFE Animal Squad

SAFE Animal Squad has just released its latest Animal Bites newsletter! This issue is all about cats. Read up on everything you need to know about cats, Azalea the rescue kitten, and heaps more. We have even included instructions for a DIY cat toy!

If you are an Animal Squad member, you should be receiving your copy in the post shortly. If you can’t wait, download an online copy now.

Help ban the cages

Want to be a hero for chickens? Let Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern know that keeping chickens in cages must be banned by completing our latest colouring page. Simply download, print, colour and send!

Competition time

Are you into animal photography? Test your creative skills with our latest competition now live. You can win one of six cool prize packs! Hurry, entries close 24 July.

If you would like to receive this newsletter and you are not a member, sign up and we will send you a copy. Membership is 100% free!

Day one of lockdown

Something is wrong. The humans are being weird. Normally, at this time of the morning, I’m sitting on the sofa, chewing my foot and watching the morning rush, then the front door slams and they’re gone. Without me. For a whole, entire day!

But not today. Today is different. Both mum and Macey are home (yay!), but something is different. Apparently, we’re in ‘lockdown.’ I’m worried. I tried rolling over and showing my belly, but they didn’t notice. Normally, when I do this, I get a big cuddle, but not today. No one’s noticing me. I’m not sure what to do. I think I’ll go back to chewing my foot.

Day two

Today was better. The humans have been baking and watching funny animal videos. I have made Macey laugh too. She giggled when I sang along to the radio. I also hung out with mum in the garden. She and Macey took me for a walk in the afternoon, but the humans I met didn’t pat me. I normally get lots of pats from strangers. Not today. Not sure why…

Day three

Lockdown is a busy time for a dog! After breakfast, Macey and I played fetch, then I helped mum in the garden in the afternoon. I kept getting called a ‘gooooooood boooooy’ even though I hadn’t done anything. I scored THREE EXTRA TREATS today and didn’t even have to ‘sit’ for them! They took me for a really long walk, and I’m exhausted, so I’ll sign off now.

Day five

Harumphhh! I’ve been woken up TWICE today, both times from the best dream ever (about hedgehogs), and both times by Macey calling me for a game of fetch. Grrr. I know someone has to get the ball and I’m a professional fetcher, but COME ON!!

Day six? Seven?

Uninterrupted nap time seems to be thing of the past. Now I’m going on the longest walks, where we do multiple loops of the park, which is pointless, because I have already smelt all the smells on the first loop. I’m rescuing tennis balls from dawn ‘til dusk and I’m exhausted. GRRR!  Seriously, I’ll be glad when lockdown is over.

Day blah blah, whatever

There is literally NO PEACE! Stupid long walks smelling the same smells, interrupted naps…AND, to make it worse, I have been asked to stop chewing my foot. My own foot. It’s MY FOOT! When will my humans go back to work and leave me in peace?

Mum made me watch a documentary about homeless dogs. The dogs in the shelter don’t get to go on walks and their naps are never interrupted, because they have no humans to play with. One of them chewed his foot so much, he had to wear the CONE OF SHAME! Mum said, ‘you don’t know how lucky you are,’ and I suppose she’s right.

Day who cares! I’m a dog!

Who’s a lucky boy? I’m a lucky boy! I’ve decided I’m going to enjoy every day that my humans are home. Because once they are back at work and school, I know I will miss them. I can still chew my foot (when they are distracted), and I can nap under the bed, which is the dog equivalent of a ‘do not disturb’ sign. Macey and I made up a new game for walks called ‘spot the dog toy in the window.’

Lockdown is THE BEST!

A message from SAFE Animal Squad

We know things are a bit different right now. We are not sure when we can go back to work or school, and passing the time until then can be tricky. What fun things have you been doing at home during the lockdown? Perhaps you would like to write about what your companion animal has been up to.

Share your activities with us at [email protected]

Our latest newsletter is all about cattle. Learn heaps of amazing facts about our moo-ey friends and how we can help them. Meet Sirius and find out how he was rescued when he was just a baby. We also showcase heaps of actions for animals carried out by kind kids like you!

If you are a SAFE Animal Squad member you should receive your copy of Animal Bites in the post shortly. If you can’t wait, you can view it online now.

If you would like to receive this newsletter and you are not a member you can sign up. Membership is completely free! Please note that we will be sending out sign up packs once the emergency notice has been lifted.

Our latest colouring competition is out, too!

Send your entries to:

[email protected] by Friday 1 May.

The competition is open to those aged 5 to 7, 8 to 10 and 11 to 14.

Winning entries will be displayed on the SAFE Animal Squad website from 11 May.

Special note: Although NZ Post is considered an essential service and will continue running during Alert Level 4, they will be prioritising essential deliveries such as medicine and food. We ask that you email us your entry (by scanning or taking a photo of it) or wait until the emergency notice has been lifted. We will keep this page updated with any changes to allow for time to get your entries to us.

Need some ideas on what to do while you are at home? You can help animals, including cows, by carrying out actions without stepping foot out your front door. Just head on over to our action kit for ideas to get you started.

Thank you to everyone who entered the animal rights book cover competition.

We really enjoyed seeing what you came up with. We had so many creative entries and it was tricky to pick a winner.

Congratulations to Akira for their amazing entry!

You have won a $100 bookstore gift voucher! It was obvious that a lot of work went into this book cover. The quote by Dr Seuss was a nice touch. Well done to Akira and everyone who entered.

Want to check out some of the other amazing book covers?

If you would like to know about future competitions, sign-up to SAFE Animal Squad to get the latest news. SAFE Animal Squad membership is free. Members receive Animal Bites newsletters in the post as well as Animal Squad news by email.

The Summer holidays are nearly over and do you know what that means? New school books!

Show your class and teacher just how much you love animals by making your own animal rights book cover! It’s super easy and can help educate others about animal issues. Head over to the Action Kit for instructions.

How to enter

Submit your animal rights book cover through the Action Kit to be in to win a $100 bookstore voucher! Entries close on 21 February and you can enter as many times as you like. The winner will be chosen based on their creativity, message for animals and wow-factor.

This competition is open to kids aged 8-14 who live in New Zealand only. You must have parental consent and agree to our terms and conditions before submitting your photos. The winner will be announced on 2 March.

Wow, what a month! November was a busy time for the Animal Squad team with all the Action Kit competition submissions we received from you. 

We would like to thank everyone for completing actions to help animals. It is wonderful to know that there are so many caring kiwi Kids out there! It was so hard to pick the winners.

First place goes to Ani, Mylo and Yoshi

Ani, Mylo and Yoshi used a kart to carry all the rubbish they collected around their neighbourhood. Look at all the rubbish they found! Animals may play with, eat or get caught in rubbish that is not put in a bin so this action is really important work. Well done, team!

Second place goes to Jasmine

Jasmine made vegan granola slice with her aunty. ‘Vegan’ means it is free from all animal products. The food we eat says how we think animals should be treated. Choosing ingredients that is free from animal products is a great way to help animals. Jasmine shared her granola slice with her whānau. Yum!

Our runners up are:

Spot prizes go to:

If you would like to know about future colouring competitions, sign-up to SAFE Animal Squad to get the latest news. SAFE Animal Squad membership is free. Members receive our latest Animal Bites newsletters, our Animal Activist Handbook and Animal Squad news.

What next?

Want to complete another action for animals? Check out our newest action and help ban live export in New Zealand.

November 1st is World Vegan Day and to celebrate, we are launching a brand new interactive section on our website – the Action Kit.

What is World Vegan Day?

World Vegan Day is celebrated internationally every year on the 1st of November. You can celebrate by baking or cooking some vegan food or doing any other activity that helps animals.

Tell me more about the Action Kit

The Action Kit is a place where you can find ideas on how you can help animals. Each action comes with easy-to-follow instructions. Once you have completed your action, you can submit photos that will be shared with the rest of the Animal Squad. You can see what other members have done too.

You can check it out here!

Competition time

Want to win some awesome prizes? 

We have ten awesome prizes to give away. 1st prize will receive a pack worth over $200!

All you need to do is complete actions from the Action Kit and submit your photos. 

Check out an example of our prize packs:

Note: the content of each prize pack will differ.

Submissions close on 1st December. This competition is open to 8- to 14-year-olds and you must have parental consent before submitting your photos. This competition is open to kids who live in New Zealand only.

We can’t wait to see what you get up to!

If you have any questions, let us know here.