KEY POINTS:
Vets who operated on a weka shot through the eye with a crossbow dart are hopeful it will not lose its sight.
A tourist found the injured bird in a carpark at Tauranga Bay, 14km west of Westport, yesterday and notified the Department of Conservation (DOC).
"When our ranger got there he found the weka had been shot with a crossbow and the dart was embedded in the face of the weka through one eye," said DOC community relations manager John Green.
Vets who removed the dart thought it might have been lodged in the bird's head for a while.
Weka are fully protected under the Wildlife Act.
"Weka are now becoming very rare in some parts of New Zealand and it is disturbing to see acts of extreme cruelty carried out like this within our community," Mr Green said.
DOC is keen to hear from anyone with information about who might have attacked the bird.
The vet which operated on the weka said it was likely to still have some sight left in one eye.
"It probably has a blinding headache though."
Caption: This weka was found near Westport yesterday with a dart shot through one eye.
- NZPA
