Taylor Swift's production for her new music video is dotted with bad blood over concerns that her crew broke the terms of their permit and caused distress to the thinning population of the endangered northern New Zealand dotterel in Bethells Beach in Auckland, New Zealand.
The trouble arose when Chairwoman Sandra Coney of the Waitākere Ranges Local Board saw leaked photos of the production. The photos show about a dozen vehicles parked on the beach as they shot portions of the video with Swift by the edge of the water. Coney said that Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED) only gave permission for two vehicles to enter the beach area to protect the dotterel nesting grounds.
The leaked photos were posted by "The Edge Afternoons with Guy, Sharyn & Clint," a local radio program which confirmed the presence of Taylor Swift in New Zealand after a listener sent them the photos.
Here's pics of Taylor Swift filming at Bethels beach yesterday #EDGETaylorSwiftWatch https://t.co/DYaqivdTK0
— Guy, Sharyn & Clint (@GuySharynClint) November 23, 2015
"We have developed a dotterel management plan as there is a heap of filming out there, and we welcome it as economic activity that should leave no footprint," Coney wrote on her Facebook page and added that there was disrespect for the environment and the terms of the permit on the part of Taylor Swift's production.
Taylor Swift has left New Zealand but no one from Swift's camp responded to the accusations. However, the local film crew from Cherokee Films apologized for the mishap and explained that Swift's crew did not endanger the rare birds during the production.
"Taylor Swift and her management team were in no way at fault and did not do anything that violated permits or ordinances," Cherokee Films said. The production company explained that the film crew followed the guidelines and "no dotterel were harmed." Cherokee Films also stated that it will make a donation to the dotterel breeding program and is currently working with proper authorities to resolve the issue.
Cherokee Films also provided a map of the production's movements to prove that neither Swift nor the crew trespassed in the dotterel nesting grounds. All may be well in that aspect but they still have to be held accountable for the number of vehicles that entered the area.
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