Reality show contestants disqualified for eating rare birds
They were made to apologise following a warning letter from New Zealand's Department of Conservation.
Lester Kiewit speaks to Kate Macdonald about trending topics around Australasia.
'Race to Survive: New Zealand' is an American reality show set in New Zealand that pits nine teams of two contestants in a 150-mile race across New Zealand’s harsh terrain, in which they must find food and water to compete for a $500 000 prize.
Contestants are warned against eating 'protected wildlife'.
On a recent episode, two contestants, Spencer 'Corry' Jones and Oliver Dev were disqualified from the show after killing and eating a protected bird called the weka, or Maori hen – a flightless and plump brown bird about the size of a chicken.
The weka, on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s red list of threatened species, is protected in mainland New Zealand, where the penalty for killing one is a prison sentence of up to two years or a fine of nearly $60 000.
The contestants were forced to apologise following a warning letter from New Zealand's Department of Conservation.
"The unique set of circumstances – cast members were fatigued and suffering from significant hunger, in an unusual group dynamic situation – meant we felt a warning letter was prudent... Nonetheless, killing and eating a native protected species in this matter is unacceptable and the company is ‘on notice’ about the need for its program participants to adhere to conservation legislation."
- New Zealand Department of Conservation
Jones apologised saying that he made a foolish mistake. Dev says he did not know the bird was protected, and being extremely hungry, resorted to thoughtless consumption.
The show's production team said it alerted authorities when they became aware of the weka incident.
“Contestants were all thoroughly briefed ahead of time, and reminded throughout the competition, of all of New Zealand’s wildlife rules and guidelines. It was determined that a contestant did in fact violate a rule, so appropriate action was taken, and the team was disqualified from the competition.”
- Race to Survive: New Zealand
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