Protest from New Zealand against bird abusers in the USA: "Kiwis are our precious treasures, not America's toys"

Zoom Image

A few days old kiwi from New Zealand (symbolic image)

Photo: West Coast Wildlife Centre / dpa

Under bright neon lights and during the day, a kiwi named Paora had to endure human touching and selfie shots at the Miami Zoo. Visitors to the zoo in the US state of Florida paid around 20 US dollars for this.

After a video documented the inappropriate treatment of the flightless and nocturnal bird, there was an uproar in the original home of the kiwis, New Zealand. The kiwi, also known as the snipe ostrich, is the national bird of the Pacific state.

»Laughed at and flaunted like a toy«

On Tuesday, angry animal rights activists launched an online petition entitled "Save this abused kiwi". Paora had been sent to the Miami Zoo as an egg in 2019 as part of a loan agreement between the Smithsonian National Zoo and the New Zealand government. "He has been tamed and exposed to bright neon lights four days a week, being touched by dozens of strangers, caressed by his delicate whiskers, laughed at and flaunted like a toy," the petition said. "Kiwis are our precious treasures, not America's toys."

The zoo in Florida has now apologized for "the stress" caused by the video – and removed the bird's close-up encounters with visitors from the program.

The visitor encounters with Paora were "not well thought out in retrospect" - especially with regard to the national symbolism of the iconic animal, it said in a statement. The zoo thanked the New Zealanders for their "care, love and passion for this remarkable bird". A special habitat will now be created for Paora to "continue to provide him with the protection he needs, while respecting and supporting his natural instincts".

Distinctive features of the kiwis are their fur-like, delicate feathers, their strong legs with large feet and sharp claws, their atrophied wings and their long beaks. The New Zealanders proudly regard the eccentric as their landmark. On the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), kiwis are classified as "endangered".

ala/dpa