In a flap over birds

By KRISTINA RAPLEY - Eastern Courier

News

Birds row still ruffling feathers

Thursday, 13 August 2009

By REBECCA GARDINER

• Howick and Pakuranga Times

FEELINGS are running high about how to deal with the problems of vermin, bird droppings and the excessive feeding of wildlife in a local reserve.

Frustrated residents living near Tiraumea Reserve in Pakuranga were out in force at Monday night’s Pakuranga Community Board meeting.

Issues around excessive bird feeding, foul smells and vermin infestations at the reserve have been discussed at board and council level for eight years.

The problem came to a head in 2004, when resident and bird-lover Rosie Fraser was blamed by her neighbours for encouraging vermin into the area through excessive bird feeding.

It has been suggested a council bylaw could be brought in that would making feeding birds in the reserve illegal.

Locals supporting either side of the argument spoke passionately in the meeting’s public forum.

Nearby resident Neil McLean said claims by other residents that vermin populations have increased in the area are untrue.

He told the board Mrs Fraser was the “angel of Tiraumea” and had been “vilified and pilloried” by several of her neighbours.

Another resident, Carron Edwards, said that the problem stemmed from overfeeding.

“There is not one resident who has anything against the ducks or the wildlife,” she said.

“What we are trying to stop is the mass feeding of birds.

“Rosie is a good-hearted and kind lady. She has just got too carried away with her feeding.”

At the July community board meeting, members passed a motion calling on the city council to urgently deal with issues in the reserve.

They also requested information on the Public Health Act to find out what rights the board has to prosecute if the feeding continues.

Board chairman Ross Warren said that several members were working on the issue.

“Work is continuing to solve the problem.”

Call for action to stop bird feeding

Thursday, 16 July 2009

By AMANDA KING

• Howick and Pakuranga Times

FEEDING birds at a local reserve could soon be illegal if the Manukau City Council passes and enforces a by-law.

Tiraumea Reserve in Pakuranga has been the subject of heated debate over the past eight years.

Residents say they have had enough of bread being dumped there to feed birds, which has been more than 10 loaves at a time.

Past plagues of rats and foul odours, some residents claim, have been caused by the frequent dropping of food, and some say there is a fine line between pollution and leisurely bird feeding.

Resident Peter Westwood told the Pakuranga Community Board there has been an eight-year struggle to get something done.

“Eight years of talking is enough, we need results,” he says. “We want to see something done.”

The board has now requested information on the Public Health Act and what rights it has to prosecute if bird feeding continues.

The issue reached boiling point in 2004, when resident Rosie Fraser was blamed by neighbours for turning the area into a feeding ground for hundreds of ducks.

Mrs Fraser, a member of the Tamaki Estuary Protection Society, continued to feed the birds.

The board passed a motion for Manukau City Council to urgently take all action under law to deal with the problems of the birds, vermin infestation and the dumping of organic material in and around the reserve.