On the rugged coastline of Kaikōura, a small trust is asking a large question: when a remnant population of fifty penguins stands between survival and regional extinction, does a national conservation framework have room for the exceptional case? The Kaikōura Wildlife Centre Trust has sought ministerial review of the Department of Conservation's decision to exclude little penguins from New Zealand's H5 avian influenza vaccination program, arguing that the kororā of Kaikōura are not merely underprotected — they are uniquely imperilled by the convergence of starvation and disease. The dispute il
Kaikōura trust challenges DOC's decision to exclude little penguins from bird flu vaccination
Little penguin populations face potential regional extinction and mass mortality from bird flu outbreak without vaccination intervention.