Conservation staff are “shocked and angered” by a report of two boaties taking dogs ashore on one of Coromandel’s pest-free conservation islands last weekend.
Department of Conservation Coromandel operations manager Nick Kelly said the most recent incident occurred on Kawhitu/Stanley Island on February 8 and that it was witnessed by two members of the public who called DOC.
The informants saw two people, believed to be from a 660 Haines Hunter boat, ashore on Kawhiu at around 1.30pm with two pet dogs.
“To see people flagrantly disregard the rules and, in this case, walk right past a sign telling them they shouldn’t be there, is very distressing,” said Kelly.
“As well as being somewhere they shouldn’t have been, the two people who’ve landed on Kawhitu have risked undoing decades of conservation work protecting vulnerable species.
“They’ve also risked the biosecurity of the island, which is protected through strict protocols we place on our own staff and any visitor authorised to carry out work on Kawhitu.”
Kelly said the owner or skipper of the Nirvana 2 — or anyone who saw people go ashore — should contact DOC on 0800 DOC HOT.
The island, located northeast of Matarangi, was a haven for several protected and threatened species such as tieke/saddlebacks, flesh-footed shearwaters/toanui, and kakariki/red-crowned parakeet.
The tieke/saddleback was only recently reintroduced to the mainland of the South Island after a regeneration project on Rakiura/Stewart Island.
Saddlebacks were once widespread on NZ’s mainland and island forests but neared extinction and were limited to three islands near Stewart Island. (Source: 1News)
Taking a pet onto conservation land, without having been granted access, may incur an infringement fine or prosecution.
