The African elephant Paul created.
An artist is calling for information on vandalised and stolen animal plywood cutouts at Stratford's Victoria Park.
In 2018, Paul Burton created different animal cut-outs to sit on a fence at Victoria Park.
However, vandalism is making him reconsider if he makes anymore.
The creations are based on New Zealand endangered species. The fence features a kiwi, a kingfisher, a praying mantis and other native birds.
Paul also added a dinosaur and an elephant.
"I picked what animals would look good for the kids. Children love dinosaurs and elephants. I wanted the kids to be able to learn about our endangered species and have something nice to look at."
He says when the cut-outs were first placed at the park, there was lots of positive feedback.
"The children and adults enjoyed looking at the work. By giving the children something to look at, it livened up the area and showed the kids what a park is all about.
"The children speak for themselves. If you put something in the park and the kids enjoy it, the job is done."
For the past six months, vandalism has meant Paul has had to constantly fix the animals. The kiwi was stolen from the fence earlier this month.
Paul is calling for anyone with information to come forward.
"If they really wanted one, they could come to me and I'd make them one.
"It makes me quite upset because at the end of the day the vandals are ruining something that is meant to be for everyone."
Each time one of the creations is ruined, Paul has to remove it from the fence, re glue it, attach it back to the fence and paint it.
He says he tries to fix the animals straight away, so the children don't see them broken.
"It's really upsetting. The children really love the animals."
To create the pieces, Paul uses a projector to put the photo on the ply and then he cuts it out and paints it.
"I use whatever suits the material so there is not a lot of waste."
He wishes the vandals would stop what they're doing and think of the outcome.
"Maybe it is a spur of the moment thing but I wish they'd stop doing senseless things. If they stop and thought about how much effort it takes to get the pieces to look how they did before, maybe they'd stop what they were doing."
■ Paul is offering a reward for those with information about the missing kiwi. Contact Paul on 06 765 5483.
A fleet of at least 11 boats is expected, mainly from Auckland.