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1140 days ago

Woman breaches Auckland border, gets car stuck in endangered bird nesting site

Caroline Williams Reporter from Whangārei Leader

Kia ora neighbours. A woman who breached Auckland's Covid border ended up having to be rescued, after her vehicle got stuck in a sand dune at the nesting site of the country’s rarest endemic bird.

According to the Department of Conservation (DOC), the woman and her dog stayed overnight in the vehicle after it got stuck in sand at the Mangawhai wildlife refuge last weekend.

DOC manager Craig Deal said the police were called and DOC compliance officers will be following up with the woman, over her entering a wildlife refuge with a vehicle and a dog, both of which are prohibited and carry an $800 infringement notice.

The site is one of four tara iti (fairy tern) nesting sites located just north of Auckland, and protected by Northland Reserves Bylaws.

With a population of fewer than 40 birds, the birds have been near extinction since the 1980s and require a lot of human help to ensure their survival.

The attached video from the 2020 breeding season shows the steps taken to protect fairy tern eggs during a storm. (Video credit: Ricky Wilson/Stuff)

More messages from your neighbours
2 hours ago

Best way to use leftovers?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

I'm sure you've got some excess ham at home or cold roast potatoes.

What are some of your favourite ways to use leftover food from Christmas day? Share below.

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16 days ago

⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️

The Team from SPCA New Zealand

It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:

👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️

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8 days ago

Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.

If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?

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Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
  • 61.8% Summer
    61.8% Complete
  • 36.7% Winter
    36.7% Complete
  • 1.5% Other - I'll share below
    1.5% Complete
1516 votes