Rob Butcher: Native diversity slipping away

GRIM OUTLOOK: The only kiwi left in New Zealand will soon be those kept in protected reserves and offshore islands, Rob Butcher believes.

IT IS a shocking fact that our kiwi is sliding into extinction at the rate of 3 per cent per year according to Department of Conservation (DOC) website, which admits the key predators of adult kiwi are dogs, with cats preying on young birds.

I saw the last wild kiwi disappearing from our area when I farmed part of our National Park.

When I moved on to this remote block in 1984, it had been deserted since the 1930s and had a thriving kiwi population. As I cleared the scrub, kiwi moved in to feed on the land I had cleared. They were like the "noisy night shift" leaving their distinctive "probe holes" where they had been feeding, their 84-decibel calls told me exactly where and when they were active. I came to respect them as tough and adaptable neighbours.

Towards the end of the 1990s, I no longer heard kiwi calling and a Forest and Bird report confirmed kiwi were not heard on a four-day trek they conducted in that area.

I believe now that my opening up of the area and improving the road access spelled disaster for the kiwi and two robins that also lived on my boundary. I found out later that one visitor had dumped unwanted cats, and had lost dogs for several days in there.

I believe this is typical of how kiwi are predated in the remote parts of New Zealand.

It is a well documented fact that large populations of kiwi can be decimated by one dog in a short space of time.

So why is our Government spending many millions on flag projects while our indigenous natural emblem, the world-renowned kiwi, is being wiped out by our exotic pets?

The answer in a word is our "economy". Our pet industry is a powerful multimillion-dollar lobby, their TV advertising ensures cats and dogs are placed above any environmental considerations.

Our SPCA receives Government handouts to recycle as many cats and dogs as they can.

The only kiwi left in New Zealand will soon be those kept in protected reserves and offshore islands. These are only secure until a boatie lets his dog go ashore or a local pet dog burrows under a damaged predator fence.

Most of us get a thrill when we hear a morepork call from the bush - imagine the goose-bumps if you heard a kiwi call from Kowhai Park at night.

I believe with modern technology and enough people caring, we could achieve this.

A few years ago our Government wanted to import cheap honey from Australia, which we beekeepers knew would finish New Zealand's beekeeping industry. Our powerful National Beekeepers' Association took the Government to court and stopped honey imports.

It cost us over $1 million in legal fees but our industry is now thriving with an expected income of $1.2 billion next year. The real winner, however, is our environment, with healthy honeybees to pollinate our plants and a "boom" industry based on our native manuka.

- Rob Butcher is a conservationist, retired engineer and beekeeper.