DNA tests in kiwi-killer hunt

DoC is hoping DNA tests will lead them to the killer of these kiwi on Kerikeri's Wharau Rd.

Department of Conservation rangers are hoping DNA testing will lead them to a canine kiwi killer on the loose near Kerikeri.

Seven kiwi have been found dead this month in the Wharau Rd area, off Kerikeri Inlet Rd, all as a result of dog attacks. The actual number killed is thought to be at least 10.

Since the killings DoC and the Far North District Council have been trying to identify and catch the dog or dogs responsible. Live dog traps have been set, so far without success, and property visits have located 15 previously unrecorded dogs.

Ranger Adrian Walker said DoC was now awaiting the results of DNA tests. Hair samples had been taken from four dogs on Wharau Rd to see if they matched dog saliva found on the kiwi carcasses. The results would be known within days.

DoC had carried out patrols on Wharau Rd and the local Landcare group, along with concerned landowners, had been reporting any wandering dogs.

No new deaths have been reported on Wharau Rd - possibly as a result of people keeping their dogs tied up since extensive media reports - but since then at least five other kiwi had been killed by dogs in the wider Bay of Islands.

Those deaths occurred at Te Puna Inlet, Okaihau, Oromahoe, Puketi Forest and Golf View Rd in urban Kerikeri. In the same period two kiwi had been killed by cars at Rangitane and Opito Bay. Mr Walker said DoC had had "excellent cooperation" with Far North District Council animal control officers in its bid to end the attacks.

The Wharau Rd deaths were the worst spate of kiwi killings in the Mid-North since a single dog dumped in Waitangi Forest killed an estimated 500 kiwi over a six-week period in 1987. Mr Walker urged dog owners to know where their animals were at all times.

"Keep them supervised and properly chained up or kennelled at all times. Don't give them a chance to run off down the back of the lifestyle block and put kiwi at risk."

A FNDC spokesman said animal control staff had been assisting DoC by setting dog traps, calling in at properties to get dogs on record, following up on leads, helping with DNA testing, and educating about responsible dog ownership.