Hundreds of rare snails were given their marching orders on Wednesday by the New Zealand government after an eight month battle between conservationists and a mining company.
Up to 250 powelliphanta augustus snails — only discovered in 1996 — live on a mountainous ridge containing five million tonnes of coal worth about NZ$400-million ($245-million).
But Solid Energy wants to extend mining at its Stockton mine, north of Westport on the west coast of the South Island.
Conservation Minister Chris Carter and Associate Mining Minister Harry Duynhoven announced the mine could go ahead if the mining company moved the snails to a new home.
“This decision has been an exceptionally difficult one to make because the issues involved are finely balanced,” Carter said.
The snails will be moved by hand to a new predator-proof habitat but Carter said he could not give any guarantee they would survive the move.
Environmental group, the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society, said the conservation minister had approved the first “state-sponsored species extinction in New Zealand”.
Solid Energy said recently that it had already lost millions of dollars while waiting for a decision on the snails. – AFP