NZ Raptor Trust officially opens new falcon breeding facility

Tuesday, 14 July 2026

The NZ Raptor Trust has marked its 10th anniversary by officially opening its new falcon breeding facility, though a final $10,000 donation was still needed to finish the project.

Those in attendance at Sunday’s ceremony, in Timaru, included MP for Rangitata James Meager, representatives from the Timaru, Waimate and Mackenzie District councils, trust founders, supporters, builders, Department of Conversation representatives and volunteers.

Trust chairperson Jenni Fraser said the $250,000 facility, housing one of only three permitted falcon breeding programmes in New Zealand, was possible thanks to the community’s efforts.

“We wouldn’t be where we are today without the support of those who donated towards the facility and those who helped construct it,” Fraser said.

Angie Tidy and NZ Raptor Trust chairperson Jenni Fraser with Stella.

“A lot of people and businesses donated their time, materials or sometimes even both.

“We are amazed by how far we have come and how much we have achieved in the last 10 years.”

However, Fraser said they had not quite reached the finish line as the trust was still short of the final $10,000 needed to get the site completed.

“We still need to get our operation room, the kitchen, some stairs and a ramp finished, and we are looking for donations to get those done,” Fraser said.

“Going forward, we will also be looking for donations to keep up with ongoing costs.”

Fraser said the first two falcon pairs, Stella and Jet, and Iana and Bonnie, had already settled into their new home.

Jenni Fraser said the trust still needed $10,000 to complete the staff’s operations rooms, kitchen, stairs and a ramp.

Stella and Jet had successfully bonded and are in one enclosure, while Iana and Bonnie would be kept in separate enclosures until they bonded.

In May, Fraser called on the community for donations and to help finish the enclosures before its first residents arrived.

Jet, one of the breeding pair of falcons. He is paired with Stella.

Fraser said that call for help was answered by a commercial painter who painted some of the enclosures, and a business that completed the rest of the painting work.

She said the trust’s long-term plan was to eventually expand the facility to house more falcons, saying that they believed the site was the largest dedicated raptor rehabilitation facility in New Zealand.

Since its inception, the trust had cared for 548 raptors, including 392 hawks, 147 owls and nine falcons.

Of those, 175 raptors had been successfully rehabilitated and released back into the wild, with more birds to be released soon.

Built using shipping containers, the facility would eventually house five breeding pairs across six enclosures.

The breeding programme first gained momentum following the rescue of Stella, who was found injured at Cannington in 2021.

Because of permanent health issues, Stella could not return to the wild and lived at the Kārearea Falcon Trust in Blenheim with her partner, Jet, before relocating to Timaru.

Bonnie had been in the rehabilitation programme since she was found with an eye injury in a Woodbury chicken coop in 2025.

In 2025, DOC issued the trust a Permanent Captive Holding for Species Management permit, allowing it to develop the captive breeding programme.