Construction worker killed kea
A Nelson man who killed a kea told his co-workers: ‘‘It’s just a f.....g bird .’’
Stephen Frost, 46, faced two charges under the Wildlife Act of hunting or killing protected wildlife and disposing of protected wildlife without lawful authority. He pleaded guilty in the Nelson District Court on Wednesday.
The maximum penalty is a fine of up to $100,000 or two years’ imprisonment.
Last July, Frost was working at a construction site at Stanley Hill in the Motueka Valley where kea were frequently seen. There had been reports of the parrots damaging equipment.
Frost’s employer had advised his staff that kea were protected, and had given them practical solutions for working in an environment where the birds were present. Despite this, Frost had been seen displaying hostility towards the birds, shouting at them and throwing objects at them on several occasions.
On the morning of July 18, Frost and some of his co-workers were in an office on the site when they heard kea on the roof.
Frost went outside and saw a kea on a shipping container, making noise. He picked up a 30cm solid wood builder’s peg and threw it at the bird, knocking it off the container. He then stood on the injured kea’s head.
A co-worker arrived to find Frost standing over the kea, which was still moving. It then died from its injuries.
When confronted by his coworkers, Frost reportedly said: ‘‘It’s just af.....gbird.’ ’ H et hen wrapped the dead kea in black plastic and put it in a skip at the site.
A Department of Conservation ranger visited the site the following week and located the dead kea. He spoke with Frost, who admitted killing the bird. He said he didn’t mean to throw the peg, and just wanted to scare the kea away, but it was icy and the peg slipped out of his hand.
Frost claimed he panicked after hitting the kea, and said it was ‘‘pretty stuffed’’, so he decided to put it out of its misery by stomping on its head.
Frost said the kea making a lot of noise had annoyed him, as he was stressed out about his father’s ill health. ‘‘I knew they were extinct and everything.’’
Kea, the world’s only alpine parrot, have been protected since December 1986. It is estimated that fewer than 5000 remain in the wild, and their conservation status is threatened.
Kea Conservation Trust conflict transformation co-ordinator Andrea Goodman said it was ‘‘intolerable’’ that someone would decide to kill kea.
She said the trust had visited the Motueka building site to look at ways it could be less attractive to kea, and had been working with the project manager prior to the incident.
Actions included making sure there was no food left lying around, shutting the doors of vehicles and the smoko room, and keeping the site tidy so there was nothing lying around for the birds to get into. She said the landowner and his team had done everything right.
Goodman said the worst thing someone could do was feed a kea, because once a bird was fed it would continue to seek food from people.
She said kea were naturally inquisitive, and when they left the nest, they would mob up and fly around together.
‘‘For young kea, which these kea were, putting things in their mouth and playing with them is how they learn about the environment around them.’’
Goodman said that while they were alpine birds, kea were often found at lower altitudes, so it was important that people learned to live with them.
‘‘Kea have a hard enough life as it is being ground nesters. They are vulnerable to predation, and we have got to make sure they are well looked after.’’
Frost will be sentenced on January 23.