DOC and Wildlife Trust workers found and treated a kiwi, whose foot was severed in a gin trap, but they could not save its life. The kiwi pictured is not the one that was killed.

Illegal gin traps used to protect a cannabis plot on the West Coast have severed a kiwi's foot and killed weka.

Eric Peter Vegneris, 52, and Darryl Reece William Alexander, 42, were arrested after police found a cannabis plot in dense bush near Blackball in April.

Several illegal gin traps were found around a "significant" cannabis plot, which was in an area monitored by the Department of Conservation (DOC), Tasman District Police spokeswoman Barbara Dunn said.

The ground-based traps contained dead weka and a kiwi's severed lower leg and foot.

A DOC spokeswoman said Paparoa Wildlife Trust members found the two-year old great spotted kiwi hobbling on one leg near one of the traps.

It had to be put down.

The spokeswoman said the kiwi had been raised in captivity and released into the DOC-monitored area.

Kiwi and weka are protected under the Wildlife Act 1953. Offences are liable to penalties of up to two years' imprisonment or a fine of up to $100,000.

DOC permits must be obtained to operate traps on public conservation land. They must be set at least 700mm above the ground in areas where there are ground-dwelling birds.

Dunn said a "significant quantity of cannabis material" was recovered on Tuesday.

Vegneris and Alexander appeared in Greymouth District Court today, where there entered no pleas on the charges relating to drugs and to the deaths of various native birds.

Both men were remanded on bail until June 16.

A 51-year-old woman has also been charged with cannabis possession. She will appear in the Greymouth District Court on June 16.