Department of Conservation staff in the Waikato hope their kiwi-aversion programme for dogs will be adopted nationwide if it proves successful.
The Waikato conservancy has been using canine shock treatment on all Coromandel Pig Hunting Club dogs to deter them from attacking kiwi while hunting on the peninsula.
DoC programme manager JasonRoxburgh said the aversion programme had been used in the region for the past six to seven years. It would be formally tested in the next 12 months when money was available.
"If it is proven to work in the long term, we would like to see it being adopted in areas where dogs are an issue for all ground-dwelling birds," he said.
Dogs are "treated" by a small electric shock administered by a collar when they show an interest in a range of kiwi stimuli, including a dead bird, stools, feathers and sound.
Dogs have killed nine out of 16 kiwi monitored in the Northern Te Urewera Ecological Restoration Project in the Bay of Plenty since December.
Mr Roxburgh said of 95 kiwi monitored in the Coromandel's Moehau Kiwi Sanctuary, only one had been killed by a dog, 18 months ago.
The programme is also being used by the Tongariro/Taupo and Northland conservancies.
