A national animal rights organisation could lose its charitable status due to a farmer-led retaliation against its anti-dairy campaigns.

Advocacy group SAFE has criticised the dairy industry through its highly publicised campaigns, which have targeted apparent mistreatment of bobby calves.

Last year, it released covert footage of calves being kicked, beaten and thrown by farmers and slaughterhouse workers in Waikato.

KIRK HARGREAVES/FAIRFAX NZ SAFE executive director Hans Kriek.

It published a scathing ad in UK newspaper The Guardian, describing the "shocking treatment" of calves in the New Zealand dairy industry.

In response, outraged farmers described the campaign as "emotional scaremongering", and said it was an attempt to undermine New Zealand's economy.

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In a petition started by Gore dairy farmer Bridget Lowry, which has reached nearly 11,000 signatures, she called for SAFE's charitable status to be revoked.

The petition has been presented to the Department of Internal Affairs, and is being treated as a formal complaint, which could lead to its status being reviewed.

A spokeswoman said the department had requested information from SAFE about its current activities.

Lowry said she was sick of SAFE's "slander against dairy farmers", which she said unfairly portrayed them as cruel.

"There's so many people out there who are believing what they're saying. They've put a huge rift between rural and towns at this stage," she said.

"They just need to pull their heads in and get back to the facts."

SAFE did not use funds to educate the public, which it was required to do to maintain its charitable status, she said.

Lowry said she had been threatened by animal rights activists because she was a dairy farmer, behaviour she said was fuelled in part by SAFE's inflammatory campaigns.

"Half of the [threats] I get aren't even from New Zealand. That's the worst thing - it's not just the kiwis being threatening and abusive, it's coming from overseas as well."

According to its most recent financial reports, virtually all of SAFE's funding - just over $1 million - comes from donations.

If its charitable status was revoked, it would have to pay tax on its donations, likely forcing it to downsize considerably.

SAFE executive director Hans Kriek said Lowry's claims were unfounded and he was not worried about losing charitable status.

"We were given our charitable status by the Charities Commission, they looked at us and felt we met the criteria. Unless the criteria has changed, we haven't changed, so we're pretty relaxed.

"Ultimately, we have a job to do for animals, and we will do the job."

He said claims that SAFE did not provide education were demonstrably untrue.

"Campaigning is educating, but we have also have a very serious education programme, which is expanding as we speak. So that is incorrect."

Several organisations have faced questions about their charitable status in recent years including:

- Gloriavale Christian Community on the West Coast.

- Family First, which has led several public campaigns against the anti-smacking law and the same-sex marriage law.

- A Head Hunters organisation claiming to be a charity was removed from the register this year. The That Was Then This Is Now Charitable Trust claimed to help rehabilitate ex-inmates into the community. The Charities Registration Board found it was not doing so.