DOC pleads for donations as endangered kākāpō die from disease

Friday, 7 June 2019

Conservationists are turning to crowd-funding as they fear there's not enough Government funding to save kākāpō dying from an 'unprecedented' disease. 

An aspergillosis breakout has already killed six birds and the New Zealand public are now being asked to donate cash to help fight the disease. 

There are just 142 adult kākāpō left in the dwindling population, and 35 are being treated for aspergillosis. 

Department of Conservation biologist Dr Andrew Digby called it a crisis, an unprecedented challenge, and pleaded for public donations on Twitter.  

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'We're throwing everything we need to at this aspergillosis crisis to ensure as many kākāpō survive as possible,' he said. 

'Public donations are already one of our largest sources of funding. But this is an unprecedented threat to the kākāpō population, and we really need your help.' 

The birds are becoming sick at Whenua hou Codfish Island and being flown by helicopter to the mainland for CT scans.

If affected, they face months or more of intensive treatment. 

'We need to pay for flights, blood tests, diagnostics and treatment,' Digby said. 

Conservationist Dr Mike Dickison said the Government should step in to help the kākāpō.  

'I am hoping some funding could be found … so that we're not just relying on the public donations to fix this.' 

The disease was a real threat to kākāpō, he said.  

'This is an emergency and a serious threat, and we don't know how many birds are going to be affected.'   

DOC's budget was enough to cover business as usual but not emergencies of this scale, he said.  

'The fact that they [DOC] have had to call for public funding is pretty sad.'  

Forest & Bird chief executive Kevin Hague said nationally, funding for conservation was spread thin. 

'The reality is, the reason DOC is needing to extend the hat to the public to chip in is that there's been such a long period of underfunding.' 

Hague said the kākāpō, as one of New Zealand's most endangered birds, was using plenty of resources already. 

'The fact that they're asking the public for donations suggests it's not enough.' 

Like many native bird species, the kākāpō was 'on life support', he said. 

'This is a bird that is in very serious trouble.' 

DOC's donation page says kākāpō need 'urgent support'.  

All funds would go towards managing the outbreak and researching the cause, it says. 

This week, Wellington Zoo business and partnership general manager Daniel Warsaw told Wellington City Council the biggest kākāpō breeding season on record was partly to blame for the 'emerging crisis'.

The zoo was sending veterinary staff to Auckland to help. 

Auckland Zoo declined to comment, saying they were too busy caring for sick kākāpō. 

Minister for Conservation Eugenie Sage said ​DOC were responsible for ensuring core conservation work was adequately resourced by the provided Government funding. 

'As Minister I expect the Department to ensure that adequate funding is provided to the Kākāpō Recovery Programme to maximise the successful hatching of eggs and fledging of chicks in this year's breeding season to help boost kākāpō numbers; and to tackle aspergillosis by identifying its cause and response options.

'I know that DOC staff and volunteers and partners such as Auckland Zoo and Ngai Tahu are working very hard to do this.'  

Following a bumper breeding season, DOC expects to put approximately $1.9m towards the kākāpō recovery. 

It's an unfolding situation, but between $200,00 and 500,000 ws expected to be dedicated to responding to aspergillus this year, a spokesperson for Sage said. 

DOC have been contacted for comment.