Wednesday, 16 April, 2014 - 16:07
The National Government is increasing the threat to two of the world’s most threatened and unique birds by opening up Victoria Forest Park to petroleum drilling, the Green Party said today.
Scientists have recently published a ranking of the 100 most evolutionary distinct birds under threat from extinction. The birds on this list are of special conservation concern; they have no close relatives that share their DNA and are truly irreplaceable. Two birds on this list, the kaka and the south island wren, known in New Zealand as the rock wren, live in Victoria Forest Park which the Government has just opened up for petroleum exploration.
"The National Government is proposing to allow petroleum exploration in the habitat of two of the world’s most unique and threatened birds, the rock wren and the kaka," said Green Party conservation spokesperson Eugenie Sage.
"The kaka and rock wren are irreplaceable birds species on the edge of extinction and yet the National Government is increasing the risk to their existence, rather than protecting them.
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