Have you found a sick/injured or deceased penguin?

Photo Credit: Melissa McLuskie

What to do if you find a sick, injured or deceased penguin

Step 1 - For injured or sick penguins - ring the DOC emergency hotline 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468) or your nearest wildlife rehabilitation centre: Member Centres | Wildlife Rehabilitators Network of New Zealand (wrennz.org.nz)

Step 2 - if no response from DOC or local wildlife rehabilitation centre- contact your nearest vet clinic for advice

Step 3 - If the penguin is deceased, contact your local penguin community group (alternatively contact us at NZPI either via email or Facebook and we can let the community group know)

Step 4 - If possible, take a photo and location of deceased penguin and upload it to iNaturalist with comments on species, location, obvious injuries etc

Rescued and deceased penguins found should be checked for an ID (PIT-Tag/Microchip) and scanned with an FDX-B scanner

NOTE: It is an offense to handle alive or dead penguin species as they are protected under the Wildlife Act Authority (1953) and advice from Department of Conservation (DOC) should be sought in cases of emergencies (i.e. injured wildlife that needs immediate care)

Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) should be notified in the event of any notifiable disease

If a significant number of birds are observed in a group sick or dying, or with symptoms of notifiable diseases, please report it to the Biosecurity New Zealand Exotic Pest and Disease hotline: 0800 80 99 66

For further information on Avian Influenza please visit the DOC Website: Avian influenza: Wildlife health (doc.govt.nz)