A group of Hawke’s Bay kiwi-conservation volunteers have been dealt a massive blow after thieves ransacked their isolated equipment shed and stole vital equipment.

Environment, Conservation and Outdoor Education Trust (ECOED) trustee Marilyn Wright said the theft was “absolutely gutting” as it prevented the trust doing crucial work saving the local kiwi population in the Kaweka Range.

The trust runs the Save Our Kaweka Kiwi project, and involves trapping pests in the Kaweka to make it “safer for Kiwis”, she said.

“We’re also taking kiwi chicks when they are hatched in the Kawekas to a creche in the Lake Opouahi Scenic Reserve so they can grow and develop free of predators. If you don’t do anything, the survival rate of chicks is about 5 per cent.”

It is believed the break-in occurred between Saturday, March 23, and Wednesday, March 27, at the reserve site near Lake Tutira.

Thieves managed to get into the padlocked premises and the locked cupboards inside. It is believed a hammer was used to break into the cupboards.

“There had been a lot of chucking stuff around.”

Deb Harrington, ECOED's kiwi creche project manager, checking the whereabouts of kiwi chicks at Lake Opouahi in the Tutira area after thieves stole vital monitoring equipment. Photo / Paul Taylor

While Wright said on Saturday that police were still fingerprinting the area, some of the equipment stolen included four receivers and four aerials used for tracking kiwi to conduct vital health checks.

“The way we can find our birds and find the nests is using tracking gear, which is a receiver and an aerial. We attach small transmitters to their legs so we can find them in these vast areas,” she said.

“In the creche it’s the same, to find and check the chicks’ health, only their transmitters are smaller,” she said.

Four radios, nine trail cameras, a taxidermied kiwi, pruning saws, and secateurs were also believed to have been stolen.

Wright said the group also faced challenges last year after damage caused by Cyclone Gabrielle.

“We’ve only just got the creche ready since the cyclone because the cyclone broke some of the fence down and we had to repair it and get the pests out again,” she said.

“It’s been a real hard slog and a lot of money to restore it to this point. We apply for money from various places. Pan Pac is one of our main sponsors. Everyone donates all their labour for free.”

Senior Constable Pat O’Leary checks for prints after thieves stole monitoring equipment and other items from the ECOED kiwi creche shed. Photo / Paul Taylor

The stolen equipment would likely be useless to those who had taken it and would be hard to sell. Wright said while she couldn’t pinpoint exactly how much the equipment cost, it was not cheap.

“I can’t believe that anyone would have any use for them besides what we use them for, and they are probably not worth that much to anyone.

“I imagine once they realise they aren’t worth anything, they will just dump them.”

People who wish to donate or get involved in the project can visit the ECOED website.

Mitchell Hageman joined Hawke’s Bay Today in January 2023. From his Napier base, he writes regularly on social issues, arts and culture, and the community.