New Zealand launches program to save national bird

New Zealand's iconic flightless bird, the kiwi, could soon be extinct in the wild unless measures are taken to stop its decline, Conservation Minister Maggie Barry said Thursday.

She issued the warning after Finance Minister Bill English revealed in the annual Budget that the government would spend 11.2 million NZ dollars (8.21 million U.S. dollars) over four years on protecting the bird.

Wild kiwi numbers were falling by 2 percent a year and the bird could be "extinct on the mainland in our grandchildren's lifetimes, " Barry said in a statement.

"The aim of the investment is to turn the 2 percent decline into an annual increase as soon as possible," said Barry.

"Kiwi are known around the world as a symbol of New Zealand. They are a famous and precious taonga (treasure) and integral to our national identity. If we don't do more now to halt their decline, we risk losing wild kiwi forever," Barry added.

Introduced predators such as stoats and ferrets were the main threat to kiwi populations.

The Department of Conservation and Kiwis For Kiwi, an independent charitable trust, would run a joint program to allocate money and co-ordinate community conservation projects such as pest trapping and bird monitoring.

The funding would also support breeding programs, increased use of predator controls and investigation of new methods of kiwi management.

"No one government department or organization can reverse the decline, it needs to be a national effort. Getting people across the country involved with kiwi conservation could secure the future of our national bird," Barry said. Endi