Taylor Swift was accused by conservationists of endangering a rare bird species during her video shoot in a New Zealand beach.
According to news.com.au, the singer was filming her upcoming music video on a beach in New Zealand and disregarded the instruction to use just two vehicles on the sand. They drove up to the site with about a dozen vans and other four-wheel drive vehicles.
The action created a disturbance to the habitat of New Zealand's most endangered bird. New Zealand's conservationists said that the filming put thousands of dotterel at risk. There are over 1,700 birds building their nests on the sand.
Taylor's production company, Cherokee Films, was given permission in advance to shoot on the sand despite the risk of endangering the Dotterel species. However, the crew allegedly disregarded the restriction of having just two vehicles on the beach.
Chairwoman of the Waitakere Ranges Local Board, Sandra Coney told Radio New Zealand that Swift and her crew put the local dotterels at risks by recklessly driving and walking on the beach. Seeing such large number of vehicles parked on the shore sparked disappointment to the conservationists.
Coney also posted her frustration on her Facebook page saying that they are trying their best to limit the use of vehicles in the restricted area to protect the baby dotterels, but Taylor failed to respect that.
The Department of Conservation website always warns beachgoers about the environmental situation and condition of the place.
As for Taylor's side, her company accepted the responsibility for the incident. They have emphasized that there was no dotterel harmed during the shooting. The company also added that the team did not do anything that violated the ordinances.
In response to that statement, Coney requested the Auckland council to do an investigation regarding the behaviour of the people involved in the filming.