A planned shrub-removing fire on an island at Henley Lake in Masterton has severely burnt a duck, members of the public believe, causing outrage. Photo / Supplied
A planned shrub-removing fire on an island at Henley Lake in Masterton has severely burnt a duck, members of the public believe, causing outrage. Photo / Supplied
A planned scrub-removing fire on an island at Henley Lake in Masterton has severely burnt a duck, members of the public believe, causing outrage.
The fire was lit to remove self-seeding pampas plants which had previously been sprayed by the Henley Trust in a bid to eradicate them.
The pampas were being targeted so the trust could replace them with native plants and because they provided habitat for rats and mice.
Henley Trust chairman Tom Ward told the Herald the fire service was notified about the fire and it was lit by a trustee who remained on site.
"[The trustee] stayed there and dampened down the site before leaving the site after I had talked to him down there after 2pm," Ward said.
The uploaded pictures were captioned: "Henley Lake Masterton said he was burning so the rats couldn't nest but this is what came running out [sic]".
Ward said before lighting the fire, the trustee did see an injured duck swimming in the lake and talked to district council staff about it.
A Masterton District Council (MDC) spokeswoman said the council was made aware of a controlled burn where they were assured the person in charge had investigated the area thoroughly for any bird life before starting the burn.
"We were also assured that they remained on the island for the duration of the burn to ensure it remained under control.
"We will be looking into this further to gain a fuller understanding."
MDC staff went to try and locate the duck on Thursday afternoon, without success.
Staff would be at Henley Lake again today to try and locate the duck, the spokeswoman said.
"We have been speaking with the SPCA about the appropriate handling of the duck. Should it be located, vet care will be undertaken and it will be taken to a suitable home.
"This is a deeply regretful incident as it appears a duck has been unintentionally harmed during this weed control exercise carried out by a well-meaning community group."
The council would be reviewing the incident, including any areas where they could have done better to support the community group in an effective weed control burn off, the spokeswoman said.
