Story: Introduced land birds

Aerial rook control

Aerial rook control

Rooks became increasingly unpopular among Hawke’s Bay farmers as their numbers increased. Because they attacked crops and made unwelcome noise, in 1971 the region declared them an agricultural pest and about 35,000 were shot or poisoned. Today poisoned bait is applied by hand to individual nests by an operator slung below a helicopter.

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Hawke's Bay Regional Council
Photograph by Dean Roughton

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How to cite this page:

Christina Troup, 'Introduced land birds - Rooks', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/17158/aerial-rook-control (accessed 26 April 2024)

Story by Christina Troup, published 24 Nov 2008, reviewed & revised 17 Feb 2015