14 Sep 2018

Anti-1080 protester flip-flops on killed birds

From Morning Report, 7:13 am on 14 September 2018

A ban-1080 protest held on Wednesday took a dark turn when Speaker Trevor Mallard said he had expert advice the native bird carcasses delivered to Parliament's steps by school children appeared to have been bludgeoned to death. Mr Mallard called a media conference on Thursday to announce he had laid a complaint with police and the Department of Conservation in light of what had happened to the protected kererū. Five native birds were dumped on the steps, including Kererū and Weka, with protesters claiming they were killed as a result of government-led 1080 poison drops. It's illegal to kill or be in possession of native birds. One of the men leading the protest was Alan Gurden. He explained his actions to reporters outside Parliament on Wednesday.