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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Tess McClure in Auckland

From thieving parrots to boozy pigeons: why New Zealand is obsessed with its native birds

New Zealand Ron Magill
Composite image of a North Island brown kiwi, a kererū, a kākāpō and a tūī
New Zealand’s love of its native birds has shaped its national identity and conservation agenda. Clockwise from top left: a North Island brown kiwi, a kererū, a kākāpō and a tūī. Composite: Victoria Hart/Getty Images/iStock/Reuters

When unsuspecting Miami zoo ambassador Ron Magill woke on Tuesday, he could not have anticipated the storm of fury he was about to encounter.

Opening his inbox, the wave broke: hundreds of furious tweets, emails, videos, trending hashtags, TikToks. A 13,000-signature petition, news stories leading every local media outlet, a formal government statement. As the day wore on, the furore attracted attention from New Zealand’s highest office – the prime minister weighed in at a press conference.

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