Free flight aviary at Whanganui's Rotokawau Virginia Lake.
Free flight aviary at Whanganui's Rotokawau Virginia Lake.
Whanganui’s Rotokawau Virginia Lake aviary has been given a new lease of life after Whanganui District Council put its future to a vote recently.
After strong community support for the aviary, Mayor Andrew Tripe and councillors have voted to keep the aviary open after a zoologist’s report found it needsto be updated to meet modern standards of care.
“Generations of Whanganui people have memories of visiting the Virginia Lake aviary with family members,” Andrew Tripe said. “It really is a much-loved feature in Whanganui and we’ve heard loud and clear from the community that they’d like to keep it.
“Most birds at the aviary are in good physical condition but in February we were told that the current set-up is no longer suitable in today’s world. The welfare of the birds of course needs to be the paramount consideration; it’s vital that we have an aviary here in Whanganui that we can take pride in,” he said.
Council staff members have said animal welfare issues can be addressed relatively quickly by increasing staffing levels at the aviary, reducing the number of birds, and adjusting day-to-day management practices like enrichment and feeding regimes.
“From there council staff will gather specific information about options and costs to enhance the aviary after community consultation showed an appetite for this.
“A business case setting out design options and costs will be brought to the Long-Term Plan 2024-34 – community engagement will start on that this year and formal consultation will kick off in April 2024.
“Part of the process will involve exploring co-funding opportunities or fundraising to reduce the costs of the aviary upgrade for ratepayers,” the mayor said.
