The effectiveness of a recent large-scale rabbit control
programme at St Bathans will hinge on follow-up work by
landowners.
About 700ha of land surrounding the township was covered in
the programme, with carrots laced with 1080 poison used on
about 500ha and pindone-laced carrots used on 300ha.
Otago Regional Council regional service group manager Jeff
Donaldson said the area was rabbit-prone country and numbers
had built up in recent years.
During the public forum at an Otago Conservation Board
meeting in St Bathans last week, two St Bathans residents
raised concerns about the rabbit problem in the area.
Max Polglaze said the poisoning programme had been very
effective - "it just about wiped them out."
He was worried about re-infestation because it was a "very
busy" rabbit population and said he preferred "organic"
methods of control in the future.
Lorraine Bennett said she would prefer to see rabbits
controlled by a shooter, rather than using 1080 poison.
She was concerned about 1080 residue.
While discussing the use of 1080 for possum control later on
during the meeting, Otago conservator Marian van der Goes
said it was an effective tool for large tracts of land.
The negative public perception about 1080 was a challenge,
she said.
Board chairman Hoani Langsbury said the board's stance was
that it supported the use of 1080 as a tool for pest control
in the absence of anything as effective.
Speaking after the meeting, regional council technical
adviser Stephen Price, of Alexandra, said St Bathans
landowners needed to remain vigilant about controlling rabbit
numbers on their properties, to back up the recent poisoning
programme.
"It's very rabbit-prone land so all that good work will be
undone if all property owners don't keep on top of things."
The St Bathans area was classified as six or seven on the
McLean scale of rabbit infestation, with eight being the most
infested land.
Night shooting was not suitable for land with that level of
infestation, he said.
"Poisoning is the only thing you can do; night shooting will
not cut it."
Ms Bennett said rabbit carcasses were in waterways around the
town for "up to a month" after the poison drop.
Mr Price said the ORC had received permission from the Otago
medical officer of health for the poisoning programme and had
avoided laying bait within 50m of any waterway.
Staff had checked there were no poisoned carrots in the water
race and also went back later and removed seven rabbit
carcasses from the race.
The race had been diverted from the source of drinking water,
he said.
No complaints had been received from the public about the
rabbit control programme.
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