Dogs on Kawhitu Stanley Island in Coromandel prohibited, DoC urges after recent reports

DoC was alerted to two people and two dogs walking along the beach of Kawhitu/Stanley Island on February 8. Photo / Chris Twemlow, DoC

Reports of people walking their dogs on a pest-free conservation island in the Coromandel have the Department of Conservation (DoC) in anger.

DoC was alerted to two people and two dogs walking along the beach of Kawhitu/Stanley Island on February 8.

Kawhitu Island is classified as a nature reserve under the Reserve Act 1977, which means no one can enter without “express permission”.

A person that commits an offence against the Reserve Act could face up to a year in prison.

Roughly 86ha in size, the island is a haven for numerous protected and threatened species, including tīeke/saddlebacks, flesh-footed shearwaters/toanui, and kākāriki /red-crowned parakeet.

DoC’s Coromandel operations manager Nick Kelly said the people had not only risked the island’s biosecurity but also “undoing decades of conservation work”.

“To see people flagrantly disregard the rules – and in this case walk right past a sign telling them they shouldn’t be there – is very distressing,” he said.

“As well as being somewhere they shouldn’t have been, the two people who’ve landed on Kawhitu have risked undoing decades of conservation work protecting vulnerable species.

“They’ve also risked the biosecurity of the island, which is protected through strict protocols we place on our own staff and any visitor authorised to carry out work on Kawhitu.”

Two members of the public witnessed two people walking along a beach on the island at about 1.30pm last Saturday with two dogs and alerted DoC.

Kelly encouraged anyone who saw people from a vessel in the area go ashore – to contact DoC on 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468), and quote CLE-8615.

As Kawhitu is a nature reserve, the Reserves Act applies which means a person committing an offence against the act could also face up to a year in prison.

DoC also has its infringement system option available, and an $800 fine could be placed on the owner(s) of the dogs.