DoC losses could affect endangered species

Photo / Lynda Feringa

There is concern more of New Zealand's endangered species will be lost if job losses go ahead at the Department of Conservation.

Over 100 conservation department staff are expected to lose their jobs this week.

Auckland University associate professor Jacqueline Beggs says it's hard to say which specific areas will be affected.

However, she says the fact is New Zealand has a whole long list of hundreds of species that are in danger and already DoC can't respond to all of those challenges.

When Prime Minister John Key was asked about whether jobs would be cut from the frontline, he fudged.

He doesn't think they will be characterised as 'front-line' although there may be one or two who would disagree with that.

The redundancies at the department come after 120 jobs were cut just last year.