At least 14 endangered weka were killed last week by roaming
dogs on Kawau Island in the Hauraki Gulf.
Department of Conservation (DOC) biodiversity manager Rory
Renwick said the dogs were found in the grounds of Mansion
House on Tuesday morning, with the dead weka, a peacock and a
wallaby nearby.
The owner of the two dogs lost track of them when out
walking, he said.
Kawau Island has about 3500 weka, two thirds of the
population of the birds in the North Island.
"Kawau is by far the strong hold, but definitely can't
sustain that kind of a hammering. We found 14 but there could
well be a lot more of them (killed)," he said.
DOC is "trying to find out exactly what happened and make
sure it does not happen again in the future," he said.
Mr Renwick could not say whether the owner of the dogs would
be fined over this incident.
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