Slaughter of endangered shorebirds condemned in NZ

MAY NEVER FLY AGAIN: Those birds not killed suffered serious injuries, such as the godwit with its broken wing. Picture: Steve Westgate

Those not killed left to suffer in agony

March 2011: More than 100 endangered shorebirds have been shot in Kaipara Harbour, New Zealand, despite their protected status.
More than 100 godwits, knots and other shorebirds including the endangered New Zealand dotterel were believed to have been shot in what appears to have been an illegal harvest at the remote location. Injured birds not collected were left to suffer in agony and some were eaten by predators such as rats and cats.

Independent conservation organisation Forest & Bird have roundly condemned the attack. ‘The cruel and cowardly shooting of a large number of godwits and other protected wildlife at Okaro Creek in the Kaipara Harbour was the worst kind of crime against our precious natural taonga,' said Forest & Bird Marine Advocate Karen Baird.

The shooting was discovered by former Forest & Bird Northern branch chairman Steve Westgate. ‘I was appalled to see the state of these birds, dragging their wings along the ground. There is no excuse to treat any animal in such a callous way," he said.

One godwit unlikely to ever fly again
Three injured godwits, two variable oystercatchers and a red knot were taken to the Whangarei Bird Rescue Centre. The red knot later died and one of the godwits is unlikely to ever fly again, the centre's Heather O'Brien said.

University of Auckland researcher Steffi Ismar has been surveying critically endangered fairy terns in the Kaipara Harbour for Forest & Bird over the summer and had counted more than 1,000 godwits and 300 knots there.

‘It is shocking to see animals treated in such a cruel fashion. There were some unique New Zealand treasures among the victims, such as the New Zealand dotterels which are rarer than kiwi,' she said.

Remarkable birds had travelled 15,000km from Alaska
Eastern bar-tailed godwits, or kuaka, arrive in New Zealand from September after a flight of more than 15,000 km from Alaska, a remarkable journey which they undertake without stopping to feed. When they get here they are ravenous and need to quickly refuel in our food-rich estuaries.

‘Right now these birds are feeding intensively to put on condition for the return migration to their breeding grounds in Alaska,' Karen Baird said.