Man found guilty over weka deaths

File photo / NZ Herald

A man whose dog allegedly killed 14 endangered weka on an island north of Auckland has been found guilty by a jury of three charges.

Donald Shepherd, 66, was found guilty of two charges of allowing his two dogs to enter a controlled area and one of owning a dog that attacked and killed endangered wildlife.

Shepherd had yesterday pleaded guilty to two further charges of allowing his two dogs to enter a controlled area.

The charges were laid after 14 weka were found dead on a Department of Conservation (DOC) reserve, along with a white peacock and a wallaby, on Kawau Island, off the coast of Warkworth, north of Auckland.

Shepherd's dogs were found by a DOC ranger on reserve grounds near to where the dead animals were found.

During the trial, DOC principal compliance officer Richard Bray told the court that although forensic evidence could not prove Shepherd's dog Scooby killed the birds, circumstantial evidence strongly suggested Scooby was the culprit.

Shepherd said he had made every effort to keep the dogs secure and people often commented on how concerned he was to make sure they did not break free.

He said in a recorded interview played in court that he was fond of weka - once bringing one into his house because it became cold and disoriented in a storm - and he was "bloody horrified" when he was told his dog could have been responsible for the deaths.

Shepherd was remanded at large and will be sentenced on October 11.

The Crown indicated it was likely to seek a fine rather than imprisonment.

Kawau Island is home to more than a third of the population of the North Island weka, a nationally endangered bird. North Island brown kiwi are also found on the island, and both species are vulnerable to dog attacks.

- NZPA