Wellingtonians disgusted by strange ecological attacks: ‘It feels so wasteful’

By RNZ’s Hamish Cardwell

Wellington’s conservation and environment efforts are under siege after a series of malicious or ignorant attacks in recent weeks.

The fence around a wildlife sanctuary has been cut down, large bags of bread strewn around a huge pest capture project, and paint has been flushed down the drain.

Wellingtons are justifiably proud that after decades of conservation efforts, the city and surrounding suburbs now resonate with the songs of native birds.

A Wellington woman, who did not want to be named, said she hears them all the time.

“I have a ruru in my garden and … I listen to it every night.

“The tui were very noisy around 5.30am and the kaka cross in droves at night.”

Zealandia’s Ecological Sanctuary is the reason most of the birds are back.

Its 225 hectares of native bush surrounded by predators are home to rare and endangered birds and other species, just a few kilometers from the city center.

But over the weekend someone used a power tool to poke a hole in the shrine’s fence, exposing the priceless taonga to possible destruction from predators.

Just a few days later, a pile of dumped bread was found all over Miramar, jeopardizing efforts on the peninsula to eradicate the pests.

And last week, workers poured gallons of paint into a storm drain, with the toxic substance staining streams and a duck pond in nearby botanical gardens white.

The residents of the center described feeling “disgusted” and “angry” about it.

“It feels like a waste to undo so much work and effort,” said one.

Another said it was “really sad that people don’t respect nature and the place it has in the city.”

Dan Henry of Predator Free Miramar said it was a blow to the collective efforts of the many volunteers trying to bring native wildlife back to the city.

“A lot of people have worked very hard to get where we have already been by bringing the birds back.

“We have people who are not only catching traps in their own backyard, but going out every weekend for a couple of hours straight cleaning traps, reassembling, filling bait stations, and taking time out of their own family weekends to do. something for the betterment of the whole community. “

Wellington City Councilor Teri O’Neill, who is the leader of the environment portfolio, said the malicious attack on Zealandia had forced her to waste valuable resources to verify that her animals were safe.

“Zealandia has had to be on high alert, it means every trap inside the fence needs to be reset and monitored … and it’s just a waiting game that’s really, really disappointing.”

While Zealandia was targeted on purpose, O’Neill said there have been no threats or reason to believe the other incidents were anything more than examples of individual stupidity and ignorance.

But Tom Key of Forest and Bird said that the cumulative effect of these actions can be absolutely disastrous for the species on the cliff.

“Our native species are so close to breaking point. We are talking about 4000 species that are threatened or at risk of extinction and many of them live in the backyards of the inhabitants of Wellington in particular, but throughout the country.

“And every time there’s an impact like this, you know, we’ve made all this progress with tui and kaka in the city of Wellington and ermine or something, going into Zealandia would be a huge setback for these species that are already … at the border.”

Police said they investigated the intentional damage in Zealandia, but have no leads. Anyone with information should contact them.

– RNZ