17 Aug 2011

Shooting confirmed in deaths of five kea

8:00 pm on 17 August 2011

A post-mortem has shown five young kea found dead near Arthur's Pass last week were shot.

The Department of Conservation found the endangered birds on a picnic table at Klondyke Corner last week.

DoC says initial pathology results show the five kea were killed using an air rifle and a shotgun.

Arthur's Pass centre manager Chris Stewart says the incident happened on the same weekend a dead kea was dumped on the driveway of a DoC employee on the West Coast and the two cases appear to be linked.

He says police are following several leads.

A protester against 1080 poison says his group is not responsible for the deaths.

Kumara Environmental Action spokesperson Laurie Collins says 1080 protesters would never kill the very birds they are trying to protect.

Mr Collins says he would not hesitate to tell the police if he knew who killed the kea.

He says a shooter from Auckland is more likely to be responsible than a protester.