Weka bludgeoned in bloody cull

By ANNE BESTON environment reporter

A bloody weka cull on the Chatham Islands is under fire from an Act MP.

Conservation Minister Chris Carter is defending his department's annual cull of the birds but Act MP Ken Shirley calls the cull "outrageous".

Written parliamentary questions from Mr Shirley to Mr Carter revealed that last year around 400 eastern buff weka were bludgeoned to death on the islands by DoC staff.

The birds, which were trapped and then bashed on the head, are killed by DoC to protect two critically endangered species on the Chathams, the taiko, one of the world's rarest seabirds, and the Chatham Islands oystercatcher.

The eastern buff weka is extinct on mainland New Zealand and is a distinct species from its North Island cousin which is a category B threatened species along with the native wood pigeon (kereru) and the alpine parrot (kea).

The buff weka were wiped out by predators in their only range of the eastern South Island after European settlement but thrive on the Chathams where they were taken by settlers in the early 1900s.

While hundreds of the weka are eaten every year by islanders, DoC says that doesn't keep numbers low enough.

"They are a pest when it comes to these two critically endangered species and DoC does unfortunately have to kill animals sometimes just in a particular local range," said DoC Wellington region boss Allan Ross.

But Mr Shirley said at the same time DoC was busy killing the birds it had blocked attempts by a Christchurch man to bring them back to their homeland.

Banks Peninsula businessman Roger Beattie said DoC had been "obstructive" over his attempts to transfer the birds to his privately run wildlife refuge above Akaroa Harbour.

"DoC has a policy it wants to bring the weka to its home range; you would think it would be simple but they have put up roadblock after roadblock," Mr Beattie said. The annual cull was a "damning indictment" of the country's conservation agency.

A permit has now been issued to Mr Beattie to transfer around 12 weka. The permit was issued after Mr Shirley raised questions with the minister.

Mr Carter said he was "not comfortable" with the weka cull and would explore other options for controlling the birds on the Chathams.

"At the moment there doesn't appear to be another option but it would be great to develop one and I will be raising that with staff."

Sacrifices

Native species killed by DoC in recent years:

* Pukeko, paradise duck and Australasian harrier hawk to protect critically endangered brown teal (duck).

* Australasian harrier hawk and pied stilt to protect critically endangered black stilt.

* Black back gulls to protect habitat on Wellington's Mana Island.