Judgement calls difficult for Doc hotline, but values support

IT was with sadness I saw the picture of the injured Snares crested penguin found on the beach at Kakanui and read of its subsequent death (ODT, 1.2.18).

However, it was with a wry smile that I read your secondtolast paragraph about reporting sightings of the birds to the Doc hotline. I saw this bird on the evening of January 17 and rang the hotline. I expressed my very deep concern about the fact that this bird was vulnerable as the beach was really busy because of the hot summer and that it was a beach where a lot of people came to run their dogs. However, because I couldn’t confirm that the bird was injured or distressed (I explained that I had not gone close to the bird as I had my dog with me and didn’t want to cause it undue panic) I was told that noone from Doc would come out that evening and that I should phone the Dunedin office the next morning.

I felt what was the point in that — the bird may not be there by the time someone responded and how was I to explain where to find it on a long beach with very similar landmarks the length of it?

So, lesson learned and a word of advice to your readers — reporting sightings does not equate to timely action unless you fudge the truth and say the bird is distressed/injured — I really wish I had.

Meredith Anderson

Kakanui

[Doc operations manager Dave Winterburn replies:

‘‘The Doc hotline service receives a large number of calls that can cover a wide range of wildlife issues. The receiver of the call often has to make a decision about which calls to attend based on the accuracy of the caller’s information, where the wildlife is, and what resources they have available at the time. Mostly the balance of judgement is about right but Doc acknowledges the circumstances around each call can change very quickly.

In this instance, we understood that the bird was not hurt, trapped or being harassed and it was decided to send a ranger out within 24 hours to check on its wellbeing. Normally this would be sufficient as the bird did not appear to be injured or distressed. The department did receive a further call which indicated the bird had been attacked by a dog and at that point the department did respond immediately.

While the outcome of this incident was less than desirable, the department appreciates all the public assistance it receives through the Doc hotline service and would like to thank your reader for being our eyes and ears on the ground to protect our native wildlife. We would prefer that callers did not embellish the situation in order to get a response as this would just divert valuable resources that might be needed more urgently elsewhere.]