Ōtorohanga's Kiwi House says two deliberate attacks in November caused thousands of dollars in damage and left critical wildlife systems disabled for four days.
Operations manager Julian Phillips told 1News the first incident happened in the early hours of November 6, when an offender destroyed the centre’s external meter board, disabling power and security systems before climbing onto the roof and stealing a specialist digital bridge.
The theft affected heating, ventilation, humidity control, after-hours monitoring for nocturnal habitats, EFTPOS systems, and an electric fence surrounding the park and its enclosures, putting the birds at risk.
It took two days to repair and another two days to bring systems back online.
"We were basically offline for four days during our busy season," he said.
"Having said that, our visitors were amazing. They were happy to shoot into town and get cash for us."
Six days later, staff leaving work smelled smoke and discovered the public toilets at the bottom of the park on fire.
Security footage later revealed the same individuals had also tried to start a fire on the rear deck of a meeting room.
"Thankfully the weather prevented it," Phillips said.
"Otherwise we’d have been in serious trouble."
The incidents have cost the charity more than $10,000 in repairs and replacement equipment, plus around $5000 in lost income.
"As a charity, that hurts. Every dollar spent fixing this is a dollar taken away from conservation work, animal care and improving habitats," Phillips said.
"It’s deeply disheartening to be forced to spend scarce funds on fixing infrastructure that should never have been damaged or stolen in the first place."
Despite setbacks, Phillips said the centre's commitment to wildlife care remained "unwavering".
"Nothing's going to stop us doing what we do. We're incredibly grateful to our community and for the support shown during this period. It's that support of our community and our extended stakeholders actually enables us to continue our work, even in the face of challenges like this."
Sergeant Gary Anderson said police had received reports of both incidents.
Initial inquiries into the burglary had so far been unsuccessful.
“Should new information come to light, police will take further appropriate action.”
The two youths allegedly responsible for setting off the fireworks behind the deck fire were believed to have been involved in an arson that took place at the public toilets in Ōtorohanga on the same day, Anderson said.
They had been referred to Youth Aid.
The Ōtorohanga Kiwi House was New Zealand’s first kiwi house and also hosts kākā, kea, kererū, ruru, other native birds, lizards and bugs.
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