Kea ‘kept like pigs’

A conservation expert has criticised the living conditions of two kea that died suddenly after being tested by government officials, likening their cage to ‘‘pig crates’’.

Casper and Stumpy were found dead on Saturday morning in a Canterbury aviary owned by Ron Stewart and his daughter-in-law, Diana Stewart.

The alpine parrots, thought to be about 43 years old, had been owned by the Stewarts since 1977.

They died less than 24 hours after a Department of Conservation (DOC) ranger and vet took blood samples against the family’s wishes.

The Stewarts were warned by DOC in 2012 that the aviary, at just 24 cubic metres, did not meet minimum standards for care of captive kea and would need to be more than five times bigger.

The family, from Darfield, disagreed, saying they believed a bigger enclosure would kill the birds.

Tamsin Orr-Walker, chairwoman and co-founder of the Kea Conservation Trust, said she was appalled by the conditions the two kea were kept in.

‘‘The bigger picture is those birds were not held in great conditions. It’s the equivalent to pigs in farrowing crates.’’

Diana Stewart said that making the two birds live in a bigger home would be like ‘‘putting two 90-year-olds in a theme park and telling them to ‘go for your life’.’’

Kea – large, green mountain parrots – are famed for their curiosity and intelligence and in October were voted New Zealand’s bird of the year. They are endangered, with only 3000 to 7000 birds left nationally.