MUTTONBIRDS

There are 21 million Mutton Birds in New Zealand, each year Rakiura (Stewart Island) Maori harvest around 250,000 plump chicks... Most eggs that are laid don't hatch as these Islands are simply over populated. On Kai Tahu's Beneficial Mutton Bird Islands, we keep the numbers of birds down, meaning that virtually every egg laid, hatches and becomes a healthy Mutton Bird... our family tradition of seasonally harvesting muttonbirds at poutama island