Feathers fly between vets and agency in dispute over parrot's new home

A tug-of-war over a kākā parrot called Charlie is seriously ruffling feathers in the south.

For almost a quarter of a century, the bird known as Charlie Girl lived at Te Anau Bird Sanctuary, where she fostered chicks, hatching and rearing them for release. She is not able to be returned to the wild herself, because of a damaged wing.

But a few months ago, the Department of Conservation (DOC) moved Charlie Girl to an aviary hosted by the Dunedin City Council, in the Dunedin Botanical Gardens.

Now, five veterinarians have signed an open letter saying the kākā has been showing signs of severe distress and was being bullied by a male bird, and Charlie Girl should be returned to her old home.

In a letter back, DOC said it had no concerns for Charlie's health. And while it had full confidence in the Dunedin aviary, it said the aviary was not able to keep the kākā anymore, so it was looking for a new home for the bird.

But Charlie would not be returning to Te Anau.

One of the vets who sent the letter to DOC, Dr Christina Abramowicz, told Checkpoint that she had presented evidence about Charlie's behaviour to DOC, but was frustrated with their response.

Charlie was showing "visible wing sag from an arthritic wing" that had not been addressed and was getting worse, she said.

"We have her weaving ... she's rocking back and forth in distress ... This is a repetitive stress behaviour and a response to the environment that she finds overwhelming compared to Te Anau."

DOC has said the weaving was a stereotypical behaviour that Charlie had exhibited over a long period, and it believed some of the other concerns raised by Abramowicz were courtship behaviour.

But Abramowicz said that was a concerning reply.

"She was traumatised as a juvenile, and she used to show these behaviours, but she got over them with care and support from Te Anau.

"She was shown to be thriving in Te Anau, and we have multiple witness statements - not just me - showing the difference in her behaviour in Dunedin verses Te Anau, where she was doing well.

"This is her showing such a high level of distress, and I've actually gone through throughout the day and measured how much distress she's showing and they've ignored that data."

Visits have been disturbing the kākā, DOC says

In a statement to Checkpoint, the DOC South Island manager of the kākā breed- for-release programme Ash Murphy said the organisation was confident Charlie's welfare was sound and that the kākā's well-being was being prioritised.

However, the agency said it was looking at moving Charlie from the Dunedin aviary because the kākā was being disturbed there by a member of a Te Anau advocacy group. And that the next move would mean the kākā could no longer foster eggs.

Murphy said the Dunedin aviaries where Charlie is now are large and environmentally complex, which meant Charlie had good opportunities for enrichment and more social interactions with other kākā. And DOC was working with the Ministry for Primary Industries to conduct an in-depth assessment of Charlie's welfare.

Asked by Checkpoint about what her observations of the bird involved, Abramowicz said Charlie's signs of distress had been observed by others too.

"Charlie's been seen to be doing the weaving behaviour by multiple visitors in July and August - before I even arrived in Dunedin.

"And when I came two-and-a-half weeks ago - I had notified DOC and DCC [Dunedin City Council] that I was coming - I presented them with my data, they kept saying they had no concerns.

"I would visit her a couple of times a day and I would get camera backup, shooting up into the aviary ... to show what I was seeing. DOC's response was continually that they had no concerns for Charlie's welfare... But now suddenly they are concerned about the weaving behaviour, but only because they have the opportunity to point the finger at me."

One reason Charlie would have to be moved somewhere other than Te Anau, was because there were no other kākā there to keep her company, DOC has said.

However Abramowicz said that there had been other kākā there with Charlie in the past: "She very well can have a bird there," and there were also kākāriki parakeets there that she was familiar with.

Asked by Checkpoint if Abramowicz would be happy for Charlie to go to another place, she said DOC were "just making excuses" about Charlie not returning to Te Anau.

"Charlie was thriving in Te Anau, it was her home for 24 years and it was good enough ... and they don't want her going back, and it's very distressing that they are finding reasons that she can't be where she was successful in the past."