A kiwi recently captured on camera at Ōpua Forest could be one of those heard calling following fears for the entire population.
A kiwi recently captured on camera at Ōpua Forest could be one of those heard calling following fears for the entire population.
Although yet another kiwi was found dead last week - this time in Hikurangi - all is not lost at Ōpua Forest, where a pair of kiwi have been heard calling after seven were recently found dead in the conservation area.
The deaths of 31 kiwi in Northland over the past six months have conservation groups pleading with people to walk dogs on a leash and attend free canine training workshops. Twenty-three of the kiwi killed were believed mauled by dogs - including the seven believed mauled by dogs in Ōpua Forest.
Community trust Bay Bush Action (BBA) said it had not been prepared for the new threat of wandering dogs attracted to a flourishing kiwi population in Ōpua Forest, but they were now actively planning for the challenge by fundraising for thermal cameras to enable improved monitoring.
Dog traps have also been set by a regulatory team from Department of Conservation (DoC) and Far North District Council (FNDC) in hopes of capturing a dog and using DNA testing to identify the source of the recent spate of killings.
Meanwhile, advice for dog owners keen to ensure their pets are not part of the problem is clear and simple.
Dog expert Lesley Baigent, who facilitates Kiwi Coast's free Know Your Dog workshops, said dog owners would benefit from learning how canines think.
According to retired vet and Far North Kiwi Coast coordinator Lesley Baigent, dog owners would benefit from understanding their animals.
“Kiwi are so exciting to a dog. Their smell is extremely interesting. They run. They are in unexpected places. So watch your dog, train it well, keep it safe and contained. And walk them on a lead, especially if you live in a kiwi area.”
Kiwi Coast’s Ngaire Sullivan said the dead kiwi reported at Hikurangi last week was found by a pine forest.
“In Northland, kiwi can be anywhere. They’re not just in the depths of prime native forest, but can be on the track, in a farm culvert, crossing the road or popping up in the most unlikely places.
“They particularly love pine forest, farmland, gorse, scrub and pampas or cutty grass.”
Sullivan urged dog owners to attend free Know Your Dog Workshops, which would run according to owners’ interest. To book a workshop, visit: kiwicoast.org.nz/book-a-workshop/
BBA’s founding trustee Brad Windust also recommended the free course, and offered clear advice to dog owners and pig hunters.
“If a dog has roamed once, they are far more likely to roam again,“ he said.
“You need to consider re-homing your dog well away from a kiwi area.
“If you are not watching them, they need to be tied up or housed.”
He suggested geofencing - a “reasonably cheap” invisible fence linked to a shock collar - as a backup which quickly teaches dogs not to overstep boundaries.
Windust urged pig hunters to be professional.
“Only run a small pack - three well-trained dogs, four at the very most. Doing regular work, because dogs need to know their target.
“Your dogs should always be right beside you in the bush unless they smell a pig, and always use tracking collars. Have target-specific dogs - if they are killing possums, they’ll kill kiwi too.
“Just because they don’t kill chooks at home does not mean they won’t kill kiwi in the bush. And don’t hunt at night in kiwi areas.”
Windust was also clear about the problem of irresponsible dog owners and offered an eyebrow-raising solution.
“Most people are too afraid to say this, but many dog problems would disappear if people had to sit a licence and get approved to own a dog.
“It should be a privilege, not a right. And the FNDC dog control budget needs to be significantly increased. The dog control team needs to personally know every dog and their owner, like back in the day.”
A spokesperson for dog-owners’ lobby group Bay of Island Watchdogs said they had successfully lobbied for increased funding for FNDC’s animal management department in 2018.
“They got an additional $180,000 per annum,” said Leonie Exel.
“That was to ensure that there was someone fulltime at their pounds ensuring dog welfare, and that dogs were not left there alone for long periods of time. That should also have freed up staff to attend to compliance issues better.”
Exel described the problem of wandering dogs as complex and multifaceted, but was clear that education of certain dog owners was crucial.
“The key is control of wandering dogs, rather than the over-regulation of responsible dog owners.
“The bigger issue is dogs that are dumped, or are starving, or are let off the chain at night by owners who can’t be bothered walking them. That is a critical group of owners to target, to try to change that behaviour.”
She said education - delivered by a community group rather than an authority - needed to target owners “who chose to let their dog wander by opening the gate at night, or by not having a gate, or by having no fencing and letting the dog roam as it wants”.
“We need a shift in community thinking about dogs, similar to campaigns around drink driving and making that unpopular.”
According to FNDC, there was no evidence that dogs killing kiwi had been dumped or were starving.
Rochelle Deane, manager - compliance, said its animal management officers (AMOs) on active duty in the field spent a considerable amount of time educating dog owners about their responsibilities.
Deane said AMOs used a compliance model called VADE (Voluntary, Assisted, Directed, Enforced), which had resulted in better relationships with dog owners in Far North communities.
She said the approach focused on education at every opportunity and provided the chance for voluntary compliance, but enforcement action could be taken when necessary.
AMOs had a range of enforcement measures to use when dealing with an offender, including prosecution for serious offences, which could lead to a criminal conviction, destruction of the dog and/ or disqualification as a dog owner for five years.
Deane was clear about the requirements of the Dog Control Act: “All dogs must be under control at all times, which includes being confined to a property.”
Deane also said there was no legislation available to the council for enforcing dog owners to sit a licence to own a dog.
Dog ownership and control were governed nationally by the Dog Control Act 1996, which required all dogs to be registered with council by the age of 3 months.
FNDC has urged the public to report problematic animal behaviour, so their AMOs can take action.
If a dog has caused harm or is creating a nuisance, call the contact centre on 0800 920 029 or on (09) 401 5200.
Bay Bush Action has its eyes on the Cacophony Thermal Camera, which can identify species through heat signatures and AI.
Auckland Council’s Shakespear Open Sanctuary has described the thermal camera as “a game changer” and a community project at Wainui said its accuracy and near real-time classification of pests were top benefits.
BBA has nearly reached the halfway mark to their fundraising target of $10,000, which will fund the purchase and installation of two cameras to trial the concept.
Anyone wishing to sponsor a camera or to make a donation can contact the group or transfer funds to Bay Bush Action, 38-9011-0447220-00 (Kiwibank), reference ‘dogcam’.
