Farmer's spray paint prank raised bird watchers' hopes of a new species
- AAP
- January 20, 2012
BIRD watchers' hopes they had discovered a new species of hawk have been shot down after a New Zealand farmer was revealed to be spray painting the birds pinkish-red and releasing them for fun.
In a judge's decision released this week, Grant Michael Teahan was found guilty of two charges of ill-treating an animal after he defended the charges in the Dannevirke District Court in November, the Manawatu Standard reports.
In early 2009, locals were mystified by the appearance of the strangely coloured hawks and sent photos of them in to the local newspaper.
However, when one of the hawks was hit and killed by a car the spray painting was discovered.
The SPCA began investigating and Teahan was uncovered when he asked his nephew to send a YouTube clip to the media, showing a man catching and shooting a magpie in a home-made trap, which was covered in pinkish-red spray paint.
Computers seized at Teahan's Dannevirke property had files, photographs and films relating to red hawks deleted.
Another file showed a cow that had been spray-painted with "Merry Christmas".
Palmerston North SPCA manager Danny Auger told the Manawatu Standard it was the most bizarre case he had worked on.
"Various people got involved, like experts who thought maybe it was a new strain or a new type of bird or whatever, but then feathers were being found and it was obvious somebody was actually painting these hawks."
Teahan, who will be sentenced on January 30, is considering appealing his conviction.
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