Takahe deaths prompt end of pukeko cull

The deaths have been “deeply disappointing”, Conservation Division director Andrew Baucke stated in a press release.

Members of the Deerstalkers’ Association (DA) in New Zealand were given the green light to cull up to 600 pukeko at a sanctuary on the northern Motutapu Island.

“The hunters had been carefully briefed on how to differentiate between the flightless takahe and pukeko, including instructions to only shoot birds on the wing”, Baucke said.

An examination shows the birds, which were discovered by DOC staff on the island sanctuary earlier this week, were killed by shotgun pellets.

The four birds, with their bright orange peaks and deep blue and purple feathers, were protected by a government-funded conservation program on on Motutapu Island in the Hauraki Gulf.

The loss of these four birds means a 5% decrease in the wild population.

The takahe, native to New Zealand, are already slim on the ground, with a population of 275 to 300.

DOC was in talks with the association, which is said to be “co-operating fully” with inquiries.

“There are even calls for the return home of those birds”.

“There’s no way that they would send their treasured takahe to a sanctuary for it to be slaughtered.” said Rino Tirakatene, a member of New Zealand’s parliament.

Pukekos, which can fly, number well over 1,000 on Motutapu Island, located 10 miles east of Auckland. The conservation department has since invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in rebuilding the population, with its public-private recovery program aiming to establish 125 breeding pairs by 2002.

In 2008, a similar incident happened on Mana Island when a conservation worker mistook a takahe for a pukeko and shot it. Because of what happened, bird cull guidelines were implemented to protect the critically endangered bird species.

Deerstalkers’ Association President Bill O’Leary said he is appalled, and he is apologising to DOC and the country at large. “I trust that this tragic incident will not harm the generally positive relationship we have with the Department of Conservation”, said Mr O’Leary.