Dog attacks Northland kiwi, sparking warning from bird rescuer

This kiwi is lucky to be alive after being mauled by a dog near Kerikeri. Photo / Whangārei Native Bird Recovery Centre.

A Northland bird rescuer and advocate is urging dog owners to take more care of their pets after a kiwi was lucky to survive being mauled near Kerikeri.

Robert Webb, of the Whangārei Native Bird Recovery Centre, is angry after a woman took her dog for a walk off the leash near Kerikeri and it ran into bush and grabbed the kiwi.

The bird had been taken to DoC offices in Kerikeri by the owner of the dog that mauled it.

Webb said the woman had taken her dog for a walk on a track near Kerikeri when the dog, which was not on its leash, ran into a bush grabbed the kiwi and came out with it, while mauling the bird.

The woman rescued the kiwi from the dog and took it to DoC.

''It's good that the woman managed to rescue the kiwi, but the dog should have been on a lead. She's going to survive, luckily, but she's been badly mauled. It was a little dog that has left a few puncture wounds, which can be so toxic to kiwi, so we've had to give her antibiotics.''

Webb said the common response from dog owners was that their pet would never chase a kiwi, but they were not aware that kiwi smelled very attractive to dogs.

The dog may not be trying to harm the kiwi, but the birds had no breastplate so were extremely vulnerable to dogs even just "holding" them in their mouth.

''A dog can smell a kiwi from up to 100 metres away, and they smell so good a dog can't resist them. So any dog can, and usually will, attack a kiwi, despite what the owner may think about it.

''It's just reckless to let your dog off a leash anywhere near kiwi, and many kiwi areas have dog bans, yet people still take their dogs in. Unbelievable.''

Webb said it could cost up to $5000 to nurse an attacked kiwi back to full health and owners whose dog attacked the birds should be made to pay the full costs.

''This is our national icon, and people need to stop and think before taking their dogs out and be aware that their pet, no matter how docile it may seem, is a potential kiwi killer,'' he said.

Dogs, of all sizes and breeds, are a major threat to kiwi and kill large numbers each year.

DoC is looking into the latest attack.