SPOT NEWS's video: Conservationist hunters apologise for shooting dead five percent of endangered bird

Conservationist hunters apologise for shooting dead five percent of endangered bird Deer hunters have apologised after 'accidentally' shooting five per cent a critically endangered bird species. The head of New Zealand’s National Deerstalkers’ Association has said four endangered takahē birds were shot after being mistaken for a similar-looking bird.The deerstalkers were contracted the government to carry out a cull of the common pukeko bird in Auckland's Hauraki Gulf but the blundering marksmen killed four taka hē birds.Only around 80 of the birds currently exist in the wild.Bill O'Leary, president of the eerstalker Associa tion,told the New Zealand Herald :I do know that the people involved in the group are very,upset themselves. It's very difficult to deal with.We haven't had a chance at this stage,we've certainly been thinking about how e approach that.The association added members had received training on how to differentiate between the two birds.It was meant to be carrying out cull of around 600 of the highly-aggressive pukeko birds.The killings ave angered Maori groups who allowed the takahē birds be moved their native South Island to Motutapu for con servation purposes.Rino Tirakatene,member of New Zealand's parliament,said:There's no way that they ould send their treasured takahe to a sanctuary for it to be slaughtered.