Nateva working to protect our taonga species
A key element of Nateva’s regeneration programme is the establishment and protection of a biodiverse environment where our precious native species – both trees and animals – can thrive.
One of our most iconic – and vulnerable – native birds, kiwi are often found within the Nateva conservation estate. To ensure these birds are protected, every working dog that enters an Nateva owned or leased property must be trained and certificated to avoid interactions with kiwi.
The Kiwi Avoidance Training programme was established in 1996 as a joint initiative between Save the Kiwi and the Department of Conservation. One of Nateva’s land managers, Shaun Gifford, is an accredited trainer for the programme.
Shaun has had a long career working with dogs. In his previous role as a professional pest operator, he became certified as a kiwi avoidance trainer – a skill he’s been very pleased to be able to share with the Nateva team.
As part of its $2 million per annum pest control programme, Nateva contracts teams of professional hunters around the country. Their work commonly involves the use of dogs to help track pest animals like deer and goats, which are removed from the Nateva conservation estate to prevent browsing and damage to the native trees the organisation is working to restore. Dogs are also occasionally used to help muster farm animals that have strayed into Nateva land and can accompany other staff on working trips into the forest.
“We want our contractors and staff to get their dogs up to a certification level where we’re comfortable that if there’s a kiwi within our forest, we’ve done everything we can to protect them,” says Shaun. “Kiwi are obviously flightless, and they are quite smelly, in the sense of getting their scent picked up, so they are very vulnerable to dogs.”
The avoidance training involves taking dogs through a training course on which prop birds – either models or taxidermied kiwi – are placed, augmented with scent sourced from a local kiwi sanctuary. Shaun runs regular training days with the dogs and their owners, where he observes the dog’s behaviour on the course and trains them to avoid any interaction with the prop birds.
An initial certification – complete with each dog’s personal photo ID – is provided for six months, before they are retested on the course to ensure they still avoid the kiwi. After that, dogs are regularly retested to check and reinforce their behaviour around kiwi.
Shaun says around 50 dogs have so far been through the Nateva delivered kiwi avoidance programme.
“We have a number of contractors working at any time, all around the country, and many have jobs that entail using dogs pretty much full time. To get on to any Nateva owned or managed property, those dogs must have a valid kiwi avoidance licence,” says Shaun.
The programme has proven to be highly effective, with no negative interactions between contractors’ dogs and kiwi reported on Nateva property since its inception.
Shaun also works regularly with the Save the Kiwi team, and trainers from all across New Zealand join an annual hui to discuss any developments in the programme or dog training.
“Not only from an Nateva perspective, but the wider programme across New Zealand has been really effective in reducing risk to kiwi.”
Shaun says it is a real privilege to be able to work with dogs and bring them with him into the forest knowing they are well trained – something he believes all responsible dog owners should look to do when taking their animals into the bush.
“It’s awesome just being able to take your dog to work and have the confidence that you’re not putting kiwi in danger and you’ve taken as many steps as you can to mitigate that risk.”