Remember when Taylor Swift disappeared and then resurfaced on a beach in Auckland, New Zealand, of all places? Well, some local residents weren’t too pleased by her visit and not just because they dislike her music. A local conservation organization suggested Swift harmed the endangered dotterels that lay eggs near where she filmed a music video.
“At all times the film crew adhered to the Dotterel protocol in guidelines provided about the dotterel nesting sites, and at no time were the film crew close to that habitat. No Dotterel were harmed,” local film company Cherokee Films said in a statement. Cherokee Films insisted Tay Tay was in no way responsible for the non-harming of Dotterels and made a donation to a Dotterel breeding program.
Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development gave the film crew permission to use two vehicles on the beach. Sandra Coney, who is a member of a nearby conservation group, insists there were a dozen vehicles — including vans — and that they drove over sites with dotterel nests. This could further endanger a species that’s been on the decline.
“It’s really disappointing that such a large number of vehicles would park all over the beach and drive all over the beach,” she told Radio New Zealand. Coney is a fan of Swift’s music, and she’ll be taking advice from Swift’s oeuvre.
“I don’t know whether ‘Shake It Off’ is the right thing,” she said. “But she’s got another song, ‘Wildest Dreams,’ that says, ‘Say you’ll remember me.’ Maybe I’ll do that instead.”
