After restoring the health of an injured tūī, a Rotorua woman is upset. Taongahuia Maxwell gave the native bird to a local veterinarian, who promised to care for it and transport it to the closest bird sanctuary. However, she found out that it had been put to death a day later.
Maxwell posting a video on social media, with the tūī in sight, said, “He’s come right up, he’s come to have a jack nohi (‘nosy’) and he’s just sitting there, so I will zip him up and help keep him warm.”
Another video documenting her time with the tūī, Maxwell said, “He’s feeding well now, coming to get the honey water.”
The videos are the cherished moments that Maxwell has left of when the native bird was last alive.
Maxwell told Te Ao News she came upon the injured tūī on the road in the morning while dropping off her mokopuna. She then cared for it and it came back to life.
“My first instinct was ‘Ok he’s dying so I’m just going to love him until he passes and just stroked him and did my own karakia. I felt that his stomach and heart were still beating so I thought ‘Oh well he’s still alive so I just had to find another option’,” Maxwell says.
Eventually the tūī started to recover and she started feeding it. In another video post Maxwell said, “As long as I’m getting this into him I’m happy and he’s happy. And he’s quite happy to be in my sleeve, other times he pokes his head out, then he’ll go have a big moe (sleep).”While the Tūī was recovering, Maxwell told Te Ao News she made several attempts to give it to bird and animal rescue organisations but to no avail.
“Tried phoning Bird Rescue which is in Mamaku - they only deal with poultry. I phoned Wingspan which is here in Rotorua in Ngongotaha - they only deal with predator birds. I phoned VetOra - they don’t deal with birds at all. And so that left me with spending time with the bird.”
“I went to the SPCA because its hours are meant to be certain times but, when I got there, it was closed. So I phoned VetPlus straight across the road. They said they would take him and send him to a native rehab centre or find some care,” Maxwell says. After handing the tūī over to them on that premise, Maxwell then followed up that following day and to her disgust discovered VetPlus had killed the bird.
“They said the vet would’ve taken an x-ray and it probably had other damage. These are the same people who said they would take it and have it looked after by a native bird rehab centre so I didn’t believe what they said the second time either,” Maxwell says.
VetPlus clinical director Trevor Kelly said in a statement, “The tūī was presented to VetPlus with an injured wing, it was anesthetised, examined, and x-rayed and found to have had an open fracture of the clavicle (shoulder) and dislocated humerus (upper arm).”It was determined that the injury was not appropriate for repair or rehabilitation, and on the basis of humane grounds, the bird was euthanised.
VetPlus also said, “Our understanding is that native birds may only be kept in captivity by a licensed person/organisation for rehabilitation and must be able to be returned to the wild. The only licensed organisations we use are SPCA and Wingspan – I am unaware of any other licensed people/organisations in our area.”
But Maxwell says she thinks the vet “probably couldn’t get hold of the lady at SPCA that looks after birds, they probably couldn’t be bothered holding it to get it to the Tauranga native rehab centre and it was probably easier to put it down.”
Department of Conservation senior community ranger Caraline Abbott said in a statement, “In some cases euthanasia is required as the kindest option. This is not taken lightly, and will always be based on the animal’s welfare.”
But Maxwell say:, “I was just really bummed that VetPlus didn’t also maintain that intent to look after him. I have no proof other than what was to said, that he was apparently in pain. Where do you take native birds? There’s no place to take native birds then, and I certainly would never do it again and take it to them (VetPlus) that’s for sure, not to look after.”
Department of Conservation officials say there are several authorised rehabilitation organisations in the area, including the SPCA, AARC, Rainbow Springs, and the Wingspan Bird of Prey Centre. They said “It would depend on the specific situation and timing as to whether these agencies could take on birds for rehabilitation, and this is at their discretion – we can’t force them to accept animals for rehabilitation as it’s at their expense.”
They also said there was no policy on whether a bird would be euthanised for a broken wing. It would come down to a clinical decision made by the vet and what was best in terms of animal welfare.
Te Ao News understands, ARCC,, based in Tauranga is the only organisation capable of taking native birds. However, it is waiting on confirmation from DOC as well as the expenses incurred when a native bird is rehabbing in its facility.
Te Ao Mārama requested a response from SPCA on its position at the time when the tūī was injured on November 9. In a statement, SPCA area manager Vivien Moore said:, “We do not have a vet onsite at Rotorua SPCA so in the instance you’re enquiring about, people with animal emergencies would be asked to take the animal directly to the nearest vet for treatment. SPCA works with a number of different wildlife rehabilitators and works under vet care instructions if we are able to take in an animal, such as a native bird. “We can confirm that on the day you’re questioning we had altered hours due to staff absences, which were communicated on the local Facebook page. We have a contact centre that takes calls and offers advice for these types of situations after the reception has closed - people just need to call the centre number and choose the option for an animal emergency. We applaud this member of the public for taking the Tūī to Vetplus, as we work with them very closely.”
Department of Conservation (DOC) says if people find sick, injured, or dead wildlife, they should call its emergency hotline 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468).
