More than a century after the huia was hunted to extinction, Dannevirke museum is hunting for the return of its own prized specimen of the bird.
A man convicted of the theft of the huia said in a restorative justice session it was stolen to pay a drug debt, but has so far refused to give up the bird's location.
Dannevirke Gallery of History vice-president Murray Holden strongly suspects the huia, thought to be worth around $15,000, was stolen to order.
He spoke to Corin Dann.
