A reality show contestant who killed and ate a protected bird while filming a US survival competition series in New Zealand was issued with a written warning by the Department of Conservation.
Race to Survive, which airs on the USA Network produced by Original Productions, filmed its second season in New Zealand.
The show sees nine teams of two navigate across the New Zealand wilderness, all competing for a grand prize of US$500,000 (NZ$832,400).
Contestants Oliver Dev and Spencer ‘Corry’ Jones were disqualified in the season’s eighth episode after it was revealed the latter had eaten something he should not have.
“So, I made a mistake. It was shortsighted. It was foolish, but the competition is very real and the difficulty of this is real. Survival in the bush of New Zealand isn’t easy,” Jones said on the show.
While the show kept the details vague, the Department of Conservation confirmed to 1News that the species in question was a weka.
“We did have strategies in place for the racing, but we didn’t prepare for the hunger,” Jones said.
“What I did disrespected New Zealand, and I’m sorry.”
The weka is a protected species under the Wildlife Act 1953, with the maximum penalty being either two years imprisonment or $100,000 fine.
DOC team lead of investigations Dylan Swain said a production company representative alerted them to the incident shortly after it occurred.
“We carried out an investigation which included interviewing the cast member responsible. Both the production company and the cast member received written warnings from DOC – one of the compliance actions we have available.”
The unique set of circumstances meant DOC felt a warning letter was “prudent”, Swain said.
“Cast members were fatigued and suffering from significant hunger, in an unusual group dynamic situation.
“Nonetheless, killing and eating a native protected species in this matter is unacceptable and the company is ‘on notice’ about the need for its programme participants to adhere to conservation legislation.”
Original Productions has been approached for comment.