Deadly year dogs our kiwi
DoC says dogs killed more than 20 of NZ’s iconic bird last year and more care urged
Dogs slaughtered more than 20 endangered kiwi last year — a toll which has prompted a plea to owners to take care around the national bird. Department of Conservation records released under the Official Information Act reveal 23 deaths where dogs had been confirmed as the killers, plus three suspected cases.
In 2017 eight dog-related deaths were recorded, with 10 in 2016.
Several of the birds killed last year hadn’t yet reached adulthood.
In June, near Whakatane, a housesitter let a dog out to toilet and it quickly killed a juvenile kiwi that was in the backyard.
In another incident, near Whitianga, eight adult kiwi were found dead, at least five of which had dog DNA on their bodies.
About 70,000 kiwi are left in New Zealand, but an average 27 are being killed each week, driving a decline of around 1400 birds every year.
While stoats and feral cats posed the biggest risk to chicks, dogs could obliterate a population of adult breeding kiwi in a short space of time.
In 2015, it took dogs two months to kill seven kiwi near Kerikeri.
A heart-breaking photograph showing the bodies of the ravaged birds laid out on a mat, tags tied around their legs, demonstrated how a quick shake by a roaming dog was enough to kill the weak-chested kiwi.
Conservationists who recently launched bold plans to reverse the 2 per cent annual decline of kiwi, with a goal of building the population to 100,000 by 2030, say wandering dogs could hamper their efforts.
“It is frustrating to hear of a kiwi killed by a dog because it is preventable,” said Michelle Impey, director of the national charity Kiwis for Kiwi.
“Years and years of heart and soul, volunteer time and scarce conservation dollars go into protecting kiwi, so to lose one (or more) to a dog is heartbreaking.”
The charity was ramping up its work in the North Island to stock nursery sites that in the future would be a source of birds to release to safe areas in the wild. “We are optimistic that the decline of kiwi can be reversed but it will take the willingness and support of everyone,” Impey said.
“That includes dog owners. Every kiwi killed is a major setback in the plan to save the kiwi so our plea is to dog owners to do their bit by ensuring their dog never kills a kiwi.”
She urged people travelling with their dog this summer to find out if there were kiwi or other threatened wildlife near where they’d be staying.
“If there are, consider leaving your dog behind with a friend or family member or in a kennel,” she said.
“If you must take it with you, ensure it is always under control. That means on a lead, in a fenced yard or inside.”
Impey said the call wasn’t about being “anti-dog” — but rather a plea.
“Even the most well-trained and obedient dog may revert to instincts if a kiwi darted out in front of it.”