"Brill" was a North Island brown kiwi, like the chick pictured. (File photo)

A baby kiwi was released by the Department of Conservation with his legs tied and was found dead the next day.

As a result DOC has put and end to kiwi being released by volunteers.

"Brill" the North Island brown kiwi chick was five months old and released by a volunteer hut warden in the Tongariro Forest in November.

The kiwi was released by a volunteer hut warden who was not an accredited handler, but an accredited Kiwi handler was there at the time. (File photo)

Supervised by an accredited kiwi handler, they forgot to remove electrical tape from Brill's legs before lowering him in to a burrow.

READ MORE:

* Kiwi in Wellington's backyards: will ambitious plan fly?

* Kiwi released near Whangarei city

* Big-brother listens in to native birds

* Tourists' disturbing a bird more at risk than the kiwi

DOC technical advisor Jess Scrimgeour said staff were "devastated" after the the kiwi was found.

CALEB HARRIS/Fairfax NZ Wairarapa DOC ranger Henry Campbell explains the process of releasing Turbo, a young North Island brown kiwi, into the wild at the Pukaha Mt Bruce wildlife centre on Wednesday.

The department's Whakapapa Village team were one of the most experienced releasing kiwi in the country, she said.

"My reaction was one of surprise ... the surprise mostly came out of knowing the staff and the trust involved.

"They've built up that trust over years of experience."

Brill was fitted with a transmitter so he could be part of a survival study to monitor mortality.

Kiwi are usually tied with electrical tape to stop them kicking the handler while a transmitter is fitted. The tape is removed after a transmitter is attached.

Brill's tape was forgotten and he was found dead by the team the next morning.

Scrimgeour said he was found in the burrow where he was released.

"It was restrained, so it couldn't move."

The brown kiwi population is declining by about two to three per cent each year.

Experts have estimated they could be extinct in the wild within two generations.

A reassessment of kiwi handling protocol, obtained by OIA request, says the death was "tragic".

There was distraction caused by the handlers trying to provide "a memorable kiwi experience to other individuals", the document says.

"The highest probability is that the failures were the result of being distracted while fitting the transmitter with the help on a non-practitioner in an open workshop environment and a kiwi handler not handling the bird at the release site," it says.

"Practitioners need to be fully focussed and not distracted in any way."

Twice in the past 12 years, straps had been left on kiwi accidentally. This was the first time it had resulted in a death, the document says.

Scrimgeour said she was not aware of any kiwi dying from a previous handling mistake.

"This incident is really way out of the norm. We're comfortable that whatever happened was unusual."

Brill was released by a volunteer hut warden, who was not an accredited handler. An accredited kiwi handler helped them and provided instructions.

Scrimgeour said it was normal to have volunteers assist with the release of kiwi.

To release a kiwi was a rigorous practice with plenty of training involved, she said.

A handler would pick the bird up and place him carefully in the burrow as deep as they could, ensuring it was dark and comfortable for the kiwi immediately, she said.

Kiwi were placed on their side, so that there was no pressure on the delicate sternum, she said.

The handler would then cover the hole with ferns, so the space was dark.

The reassessment document says the volunteer hut warden was offered the chance to release Brill.

He was placed in the release hole, they placed some ferns over the hole, and said a karakia.

The document's recommendations say, in the future, a kiwi practitioner must be appointed responsible for the health and safety of the bird for each stage of the release.

All birds let free must be released by a kiwi practitioner, and "observed to be in good health and capable of normal movement", the recommendations say.