A Darfield couple have blamed the Department of Conservation (DoC) for the death of their treasured pet kea Stumpy and Casper.
The endangered alpine birds have been members of Ron Stewart's family since 1977 and were found dead on their aviary floor on Saturday.
A DoC ranger and veterinarian examined their health on Friday, weighing them and taking blood samples and a feather from each bird.
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Mr Stewart said it took 75 minutes for the examination and that it caused unnecessary stress on the birds.
Both birds were "screaming in pain" as the vet could not find their veins to extract a blood sample, Mr Stewart told Newshub.
"I've never heard a bird...ever heard a kea scream like that."
The birds were gifted to Ron Stewart and his late wife Dawn by DoC's predecessor, the Wildlife Service, in 1977 as it was believed they would not survive in the wild.
In 2012, DoC told Mr Stewart the birds' aviary no longer met minimum standards.
He had to increase the size of the aviary from 24m3 to 180m3, otherwise the birds would be rehomed.
The family disagreed and wanted the birds to stay in their enclosure until they died naturally.
DoC Mahaanui district operations manager Andy Thompson told Newshub the department was shocked to hear of the birds' deaths saying it was "unintended and deeply concerning".
"If we had any idea this was going to happen there's no way we would have done this."
Mr Thompson said it was a rare thing to happen from a relatively routine health check.
DoC has a policy to improve the lives of captive kea by removing them from premises that do not meet industry standards to professionally run institutes or existing kea flocks.
On Monday, DoC staff arrived to pick up the birds to undergo an autopsy to determine their cause of death.
The family ordered DoC staff off the property when they arrived to take Stumpy and Casper.
The Stewart's have now disposed of their beloved pets.
Newshub.
