Aviary ‘akin to putting person in a prison cell’

The bodies of two captive kea found dead the day after a visit from Department of Conservation (DOC) workers have been disposed of – which means how they died may never be known.

A parrot expert said having them in a cage with a narrow flight area was akin to putting a person in a prison cell.

Casper and Stumpy lived in an aviary owned by Ron Stewart and his daughter-in-law, Diana Stewart, in Darfield. The alpine parrots had been with the Stewarts since 1977 and were thought to be about 43 years old.

Ron Stewart said he found them dead on the floor of the aviary on Saturday. A day earlier, a DOC ranger and vet took blood samples from them, against the family’s wishes.

DOC manager Andy Thompson apologised and said such deaths following routine health checks were rare.

DOC returned to collect the birds yesterday to perform necropsies – animal autopsies – but were told to leave. The Stewarts have since confirmed the bodies had been disposed of.

Diana Stewart said the remains were disposed of by the family in a small service yesterday because they didn’t want DOC ‘‘pulling them apart’’.

DOC officials examined the birds on Friday as part of efforts to convince the family that the two ageing birds should be rehomed in more suitable facilities.

They were warned in 2012 that their 24-cubic-metre aviary did not meet minimum standards of care for captive kea.

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

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

‘‘Having an intelligent, socially complex species ... in a 24-cubicmetre cage with a concrete floor with a narrow flight area is akin to putting a person in a prison cell.

‘‘I am not saying they didn’t care about their kea – clearly, they did – there just needs to be a recognition that kea can’t be held in these conditions. They suffer.’’

But Diana Stewart disagreed. ‘‘In a large aviary, they would have starved to death and freaked – it would have been like having a blind dog in a house and moving the furniture around.’’

Thompson said one bird was behaving naturally but the other showed signs of boredom or stress, and he said they should have been able to live in surroundings that were large enough and allowed them to be stimulated.