Dunedin's Wildlife Hospital is worried injured native birds could have nowhere to go if a rescue service is forced to close.
Bird Rescue Dunedin founder Sue Cook said on Monday she was told by a Dunedin City Council staff member she had six months to dismantle all nine of her aviaries, and needed to get consent to rebuild them under new specifications.
Ms Cook had run the shelter for 12 years, and said she had an understanding with council the aviaries were compliant unless they received a complaint.
Dunedin Wildlife Hospital Trust manager Jordana Whyte said it was a shame to potentially lose the organisation.
"Six months doesn’t feel like a lot of time for somebody to come up with a plan B, given the level of community service that she puts in.
"I would just like for there to be a bit of patience and leniency."
The Wildlife Hospital had received 43 native birds, across five different species, from the rescue this year.
It was often available at hours when other people could neither receive nor pick up wildlife.
It would be an issue if there was a lack of services that picked up and held birds overnight until they could be treated in the morning, Miss Whyte said.
"The bigger issue is that a lot of these injured birds probably won’t get picked up in the first place.
"If there is nowhere for them to go, then they’re not going to get picked up."
Doc Coastal Otago supervisor Jim Watts said it sometimes suggested that members of the public take sick or injured non-native birds to the rescue.
The organisation provided a useful service to the community and he hoped it could continue.
When asked by the Otago Daily Times if council staff had verbally requested that Ms Cook dismantle the aviaries, prior to a notice being issued, a council spokesman said staff had visited the premises on Monday and discussed the usual requirements to remedy non-compliant structures in a residential area.
This included the need to dismantle the aviaries should a notice to fix be issued, but no enforcement notices had been issued at this stage.
"We try to work with people where possible to help them comply with the rules, and in this case no decision has been made to issue a notice to fix."
When notices to fix were issued, a formal step in the process began with conversations between staff and members of the public.
The council had received two complaints about the rescue, one relating to noise and a second relating to bird droppings on a neighbouring property.
Both had since been resolved, the spokesman said.
The council wanted to work with the parties to consider the best options and resolve the issues.
"We recognise the role Dunedin Bird Rescue plays in caring for Ōtepoti Dunedin’s sick and injured wildlife, and we want to work with the parties involved to resolve the issues if we can."
