Technical slip-up lets 'bird lover' go

By Simon Hendery

A North Shore man accused of releasing destructive Australian rainbow lorikeets into the wild has escaped prosecution after a judge threw the case out on a technicality.

Birkenhead bird breeder Rex Gilfillan had been ready to fight a charge that he breached the Wildlife Act by releasing 50 of the colourful lorikeets, described by conservation groups as a major threat to local wildlife and a general pest.

But in the North Shore District Court yesterday Judge Sharon McAuslan dismissed the case against Mr Gilfillan because he was not present when the prosecution sought to amend the charge.

A fresh charge cannot be laid because the Department of Conservation's 12-month deadline for acting on evidence has expired.

Mr Gilfillan was reluctant to discuss the case last night, but said: "I appreciate lorikeets and I love parrots and birds of all nature."

A department spokesman, Richard Bray, said the time required to gather information on the environmental impact of the birds, and a lack of staff resources to investigate such issues, caused the delay in getting the matter to court.

Mr Bray said the lorikeets were rowdy and aggressive towards native birds.

"Bird lovers look at them thinking `how pretty' but if more than two or three of them were to perch outside your bedroom window, I think you would have a different view."

The birds were now breeding in the wild and were believed to be spreading across Auckland.

"The fact that we did not get a prosecution is not the end of it. We will be endeavouring to recover these birds," Mr Bray said.

The conservation director of the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society, Kevin Smith, said eradication of the lorikeets needed to be a priority.

"We believe this is one of the worst avian pests to be released in New Zealand for many a day."

As nectar-eaters, the lorikeets could threaten the native tui, bellbird and stitchbird through competition for food or through disease.

Mr Smith said the birds also had the potential to become an orchard pest for fruit growers.