The University of Auckland says there was a breakdown in communication a couple of deliberate chook cull, which led to the person employed to shoot the birds prompting an emergency response when he was noticed on campus.
Armed police and canine items responded to the University of Auckland (UoA)’s metropolis campus. They cleared the world after the college issued an alert at 8.15am Sunday for college kids telling them to remain away.
“A male offender armed with a long weapon of some description was last located in Sector 100,” UoA informed college students.
Later Sunday, police stated the person wasn’t a menace and there was no trigger for concern as he was there for a deliberate chook cull.
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Given the UoA raised the alarm about him being on-site, questions had been raised about who had organised the cull.
But UoA vice-chancellor Dawn Freshwater stated the college employed the person to kill pigeons, which is often carried out about twice a yr, and there had been a breakdown in communication.
The cull is completed to handle well being and questions of safety with the birds, Freshwater stated.
A college spokeswoman stated utilizing a firearm was considered a humane possibility. She stated the contractor makes use of an air rifle and they should adjust to firearms laws and meet good observe requirements.
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“The university schedules such culls to occur at times when few people are about the campus,” the spokeswoman stated.
“Students and neighbours are not advised [of the culls] as there is no risk to them nor to any other people on campus.
“The contractor needs to notify police after carrying out the appropriate hazard assessment and putting related controls in place,” she stated.
Freshwater stated the breakdown in communication which led to the alert being issued could be addressed.
She stated she was happy with how shortly the college responded to what was initially thought as a possible menace.
“The safety of our staff and students, as well as of the wider community, is paramount,” she stated.
The college labored intently with police to clear the campus and make sure the security of the neighborhood and emergency procedures had been shortly put in place as a part of its commonplace protocols.
Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking information. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.
