September 2006 Safety an issue for the Centre….
At the Centre we are charged with ensuring the safety and well-being
of some of Northlands most precious wildlife - endemic and native
birds. Birds, like most animals, need a lot of attention and care.
When looking after these birds we follow two basic principles,
safety and welfare, this way each bird gets the best out of its
stay.
Unfortunately for our bird friends they are not as safe as we would
have them think. Many protected birds are wanted for the black
market and can fetch large amounts of money. The people who deal in
this market care only for the all-mighty dollar and nothing for the
birds.
This is why we have had to make ‘safety’ and ‘security’ a priority
at the Centre. We have realised that as the Centre has grown, so
must the security of the birds. Over the last year we have installed
four security cameras, which work just as effectively at night as
they do during the day. I would have preferred to have spent the
funds on extra medical equipment for the birds. But due to the
appalling behaviour of some local trespassers, security cameras had
to come first. We have plenty of signs indicating that the Centre is
monitored 24/7; however, this did not deter the intruders. Every
second of the day and night the Centre and its boundaries are being
recorded, I can even watch the Centre live from home, and best of
all we can keep video evidence if a break-in does occur.
About two weeks ago Robyn and I went to the Centre on a Sunday
afternoon. We noticed scuff marks under the main gate leading to the
public area, which we thought was unusual. We replayed the video
recording back to see what had happened. The recording revealed four
people at the main gate. A male (possibly in his twenties) climbed
the gate and jumped in, followed by two young girls who slid under
the gate and an adult woman who stood by the gate. After about five
minutes all three went back out the same way the came in. This was
very disturbing to see. As a result of the intrusion, we have now
added an alarm system that will notify us if this happens again. We
don’t want the place to look like a fort, but these are the measures
we have to take. If people are caught in our compound when it is
locked we will inform the police.
Our main concern is the birds. If a bird gets fright and hits the
cage netting it is highly likely it would die before we could get to
it. So, I ask, please respect the birds and the Centre. We want it
to be a place to enjoy and place where people have the opportunity
to learn more about our protected birds. On the weekends Robyn and I
tend to the Centre on our own and we are there from around 3.30pm.
If you see us there you are more than welcome to have a look around.
A BIG THANK YOU to the Whangarei South Rotary Club who generously
donated $10,000 to the Centre. They sourced the funds from the Veta
Mary Jane Trust. This will allow us to concrete the public area
within the compound and create a new path leading down to it. The
concrete path will allow disabled members of the public to get down
there as well. The concrete will also fill the gap under the main
gate which means those two young girls that slid under the gate will
find it a bit difficult to do that again.
On another note - we have two tui in the cage besides Woof-woof, one
of which has just started to say “Hello Tuis”. We hope to release
both of these tui back in to the wild in November.
Finally, take a look at our new website
www.whangareinativebirdrecovery.org.nz it has some great features –
Woof-woof talking tui videos, web cams and our latest news stories.
It has been sponsored by Bayer New Zealand Ltd and Igrin
(Whangarei). Robert Webb |
Other Issues:
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006 |
