The Government has announced $150,000 in one-off funding
for six wildlife care facilities to strengthen bird flu
surveillance and help them care for native birds
safely.
The Animal Justice Party Aotearoa New Zealand
(AJP) welcomes support for the six facilities. But $150,000
in one-off funding is a token response to a threat that
could affect all wild birds. It leaves the most urgent
questions unanswered: who will respond when birds become
sick or die, who will care for those that can be helped, and
who will pay for it?
Earlier this month, AJP wrote to
Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard calling for a funded
wildlife response alongside the poultry programme. The party
asked the Government to decide who will collect and safely
dispose of dead wild birds, fund rehabilitation centres and
volunteer rescuers, suspend bird hunting while H5N1
circulates, and provide independent oversight of the welfare
of birds culled on farms.
“This funding is a good
start, and the people caring for wildlife desperately need
it,” says AJP Co-Leader Danette Wereta.
In its
letter, AJP pointed to Australia’s federal commitment of
$113 million AUD to its bird flu response, including $47.1
million AUD for threatened species and priority
biodiversity. AJP estimated that, adjusted for population,
an equivalent commitment in New Zealand would be around $24
million NZD. “We are not saying New Zealand needs to copy
every part of Australia’s response. But $150,000 shared
between six facilities cannot be the whole plan for all wild
birds,” says Wereta.
Advertisement – scroll to continue reading
“There are still massive
gaps. We don’t want this funding to become a plaster on a
broken leg: helpful to the facilities receiving it, but
nowhere near enough to deal with an outbreak across our wild
bird populations,” says Wereta.
“If sick or dead
ducks, swans, geese, gulls and seabirds are found across the
country, someone must be responsible for responding.
Wildlife hospitals and rescuers need the resources to care
for birds that can be helped. The Government has made a
start; now it needs to plan and fund the
response.”
