The photo that will not die

A photo of dead kiwi is once again causing controversy after the cause of the birds’ deaths was misrepresented — this time in a kiwi protection brochure.

Last month a photo taken seven years earlier by Kerikeri Rolf MuellerGlodde, showing more than 50 dead kiwi, was used by an anti-1080 group claiming the birds had been killed by the poison when in fact they had been killed, in roughly equal measure, by cars and dogs.

The person who made the post, on the Facebook page 1080 Eyewitness, eventually took it down, but not before it had been shared more than 1500 times.

Now the pro-dog lobby group Bay of Islands WatchDogs has found the same photo being used in a pamphlet for dog owners produced by the Whangarei and Kaipara district councils, with the caption ‘Kiwi that have been killed by dogs.’

WatchDogs co-ordinator Leonie Excel contacted the councils, demanding the brochure’s withdrawal, saying it was misleading to claim all kiwi in the photo were killed by dogs when about half died after being hit by cars.

Mark Schreurs, of the Kaipara District Council, said he was not aware that the birds pictured had not all been killed by dogs, but future versions of the pamphlet would be corrected.

Withdrawing the leaflet wasn’t necessary because only a small number were printed each time, and the information was reviewed each time a new batch was produced, Mr Schreurs said.