In the Wairoa District Court this week, Mr Phillip Anderton pleaded guilty to charges relating to the taking and having in his possession absolutely protected wildlife, namely a kiwi. Mr Anderton also admitted that the kiwi in his possession had been photographed by a reporter from the Wairoa Star in June of this year. Department of Conservation (DOC) Conservator, Peter Williamson said today that now that the case has been dealt with by the court, the department is pleased to be able to release the facts.

“There has been considerable speculation in the media surrounding this case, particularly since the department decided to prosecute Mr Anderton. The implication from much of the commentary has been that DOC has bullied Mr Anderton and sought to “cover-up” the “true story”.

“In fact, the department has pursued every available avenue to discover the facts of this case, in spite of obstruction from Mr Anderton. The decision to prosecute Mr Anderton was not taken lightly, but reflects the serious nature of the charges and implications for conservation of kiwi,” Mr Williamson said.

In letters to newspapers, Mr Anderton has publicly campaigned against the use of 1080 as a method of controlling possum populations. On 30th June 2004, DOC was contacted by a reporter from The Gisborne Herald seeking comment on a story from the Wairoa Star relating to a photo of Mr Anderton holding a kiwi corpse. In the story, Mr Anderton claimed to have found the dead bird in Te Urewera National Park, four days after an Animal Health Board (AHB) aerial application of 1080 in the area.

“Establishing what killed the kiwi was very important to DOC. One of our local officers immediately contacted Mr Anderton to try to get the kiwi autopsied by any agency acceptable to him. Mr Anderton claimed to have returned the kiwi to Te Urewera National Park and buried the body in the bush. When asked for details of where he had found the kiwi and where he had buried it, Mr Anderton refused to provide specific information. There were so many inconsistencies in Mr Anderton’s statement that the department felt it necessary to obtain a warrant to search his property,” Mr Williamson said.

On Friday, 2nd July, three warranted DOC Officers accompanied by two Police Officers from Wairoa executed a search warrant on Mr Anderton’s property, where a kiwi corpse was found in a freezer.

The kiwi body was sent to Massey University for autopsy, toxicology and DNA analysis.

Unfortunately, a toxicology report could not be undertaken and the autopsy could not confirm the cause of death of the kiwi. When the kiwi was examined by pathologist,

Associate Professor Maurice Alley, it was discovered that all skeletal and internal organs had been removed and the skin was filled with a mixture of felt and polystyrene. A clay mould replaced the skull and wire filled the legs. The time lapse since death could not be exactly determined, but in the opinion of the pathologist, it was likely that the kiwi had been dead for several months. Both the upper and lower beak were broken and had been covered with glue. The bird also had a fractured leg at a site where breaks commonly occur in leg trap injuries. DNA analysis identified the bird as coming from the Hawke’s Bay/Bay of Plenty kiwi population.

The department then charged Mr Anderton with taking and having in his possession, absolutely protected wildlife, offences under the Wildlife Act, 1953. At that point, DOC staff could make no comment on the case until it had been dealt with by the court.

“Mr Anderton has admitted taking and having a kiwi in his possession. He does not have a permit to hold kiwi. We still have very serious concerns about how this kiwi died. The issue is not that a dead kiwi was removed from the bush, but that Mr Anderton refused to pass the body on to DOC. If, as appears likely, the kiwi was caught in a trap, we really want to know where it was found. There are guidelines in place for the placement of traps in areas where kiwi are known to be present and we would want to ensure those guidelines are followed,” Mr Williamson said.

Recently at Mahia Scenic Reserve, contract possum trappers caught a kiwi that later died from complications after an operation to amputate the damaged leg. As far as DOC was aware from previous surveys, kiwi became extinct in the area fifty years ago. Now that it is known that there may be a remnant population in the reserve, the department can ensure that all traps are set up off the ground. Even dead birds can yield valuable scientific information to help the department improve management of conservation areas. The department encourages anyone finding dead or injured native wildlife to note the location of the find and if possible, take the animal to the nearest DOC office.

“We do not question the sincerity of Mr Anderton’s views on 1080, but his lack of co-operation and the discovery of the stuffed kiwi in his freezer does throw some doubt on the claim that he is an “avid conservationist”.

“Frankly we are appalled that anyone would be prepared to use a native bird in this way, simply to support a view on the use 1080 for pest control. The evidence indicates that the kiwi in the Wairoa Star photo that was later seized from Mr Anderton’s freezer, was not alive and wandering around the forest of Te Urewera in June at the time of the AHB 1080 operation. Mr Anderton actually told one of our officers that he did not know what killed the kiwi but hoped the photo in the Wairoa Star would cause speculation.

“Reasoned argument is one thing, but using absolutely protected wildlife for a media stunt is not acceptable,” Mr Williamson said.