Dogs

All dogs, regardless of their size or breed, or whether they are obedient, are potential kiwi killers.

They find the strong distinctive scent of kiwi irresistible and easy to track. A dog can catch and kill a kiwi in seconds, before its owner has time to stop it.

They seldom eat their quarry – the killing is instinctive, not because they are hungry.

Fragile bones

The trouble is the kiwi’s bones. With no wing muscles to protect it, the bird’s chest structure is easily crushed in a dog’s mouth. That’s why even highly trained kiwi dogs must always wear a muzzle when working.

A dog with a taste for kiwi can quickly wipe out whole populations. The worst known case was in Waitangi Forest is 1987, when one female German shepherd, left to roam, is thought to have killed more than 500 of the 900 kiwi living in the forest.

In northern Te Urewera National Park, a 15-month survey up to March 2005 found that 13 out of 17 kiwi being monitored were killed by dogs.

Stopping kiwi populations from growing

Because dogs often take out adult kiwi, they are taking out the breeding birds which means kiwi populations can’t sustain themselves or grow. Their danger to kiwi is highlighted in Northland where they are the number one reason Northland brown kiwi are declining – dogs’ impact is worse even than stoats. Without dogs, Northland’s kiwi populations would be self-sustaining but, instead of living for 40–65 years of age, Northland’s kiwi have a life expectancy of just 14 years.

Some sobering statistics were discovered in the 1990s. In the five years to June 1995, in Northland, dogs killed 135 kiwi – 78% of all reported kiwi deaths in the region:

• Of the 135 dead kiwi, 29 were killed by family pets – some were with their owners on a daytime walk, but not on a leash. Others were left to roam at night.

• Feral, wandering or stray dogs killed 38 kiwi.

• Significant numbers of other reported kiwi deaths were caused by farm dogs and pig or goat hunting dogs. One duck hunter’s dog killed at least five birds.

The solutions

The best solution is very simple – keep all dogs away from all areas where wild kiwi live.

If you own a dog and do live in a kiwi area, keep it tied up, inside or on a lead at all times. Even at night – many kiwi have died during dogs’ night-time hunting sprees.

If you use dogs for hunting, there’s a lot you can do to keep kiwi safe. If you lose your dog, or see a roaming dog without its owner, report it immediately to the Department of Conservation.

Kiwi aversion training is available for hunting, farm and pet dogs, supported by BNZ Save the Kiwi Trust. You can find out here where the nearest trainer to you is, and who to contact to arrange for your dog to be trained.

However, because there is never a guarantee that even a trained dog will not attack kiwi, the best solutions are still the simplest ones – avoid taking dogs into areas where kiwi are known to live, and always keep them on a lead.

The BNZ Save the Kiwi DVD on How to Save Kiwi has a lot of information on how to keep kiwi safe from dogs.