Penguins killed by dogs

24 May, 2007
The Press, Christchurch

Angry conservationists have vented their fury against the owners of dogs that are killing little blue penguins.

Dogs recently killed three adult birds and dug up four burrows on Camerons beach, south of Greymouth.
Members of the West Coast Blue Penguin Trust have strung one of the carcasses from a wooden stick on the beach and written "dog kill" in the sand beneath.
Trust co-ordinator Jill Cotton said the deaths could devastate colony numbers because adult penguins could have up to 20 chicks.
"It grieves me because I know what that kind of loss will mean over a few years.
"It upsets me that some of the work we are doing is not recognised after three to four years of awareness programmes."
The colony was one of two West Coast colonies studied by scientists.
Volunteers have tried to protect burrows by gating them with large pieces of driftwood, but will now wire the wood in place.
"You wouldn't believe the size of logs some dogs have moved away," she said.
Camerons beach is popular for dog walking and in summer attracts tourists.
Cotton said with recent bad weather, dog owners might have simply released their dogs to roam the beach unaccompanied.
From paw prints, volunteers believed two large dogs were responsible for the recent killings.