Money to find pests in Dunedin to help the rest of the nation

Predator Free Dunedin has been given $3.9 million from the government and is looking to a new toxin and a new model to knock out more pests. Minister of Conservation Tama Potaka announced on Wednesday in Wellington the money would be delivered over the next three years. The money would help advance predator elimination programmes, support Predator Free 2050 goals and test approaches which could benefit conservation efforts across New Zealand. Predator Free Dunedin will focus on eliminating feral cats, stoats and possums across a connected coastal and rural landscape of about 3000ha, stretching from Port Chalmers to Orokonui Ecosanctuary, out towards Aramoana Peninsula and north to the Blueskin Bay area. It will also underpin the continued maintenance of the possum-free status of Otago Peninsula. Predator Free Dunedin is a collaborative conservation programme working to eliminate introduced mammalian predators across Dunedin and restore thriving habitats for native wildlife. But the organisation is looking towards the future and how new ways and means can change the face of predator free exclusion. Predator Free Dunedin project lead Rhys Millar said the money was a great boost and was significant and cornerstone funding. “We’re delighted that we’re still in the mix … I think it speaks to Doc’s confidence in Predator Free Dunedin,” he said. “I guess the big challenge for us now is to move beyond peninsulas and islands and on to the mainland. And the biggest challenge is that animals like stoats are so mobile. We may be able to clear an area, but they will come back into those areas very quickly.” He said they were looking at new ways to do things. “One of the biggest opportunities and challenges is that we need to be able to detect them quickly and then respond and catch quickly. If we can nail that as a system, as a process, then that’s a game changer. “What we’re wanting to test here is removal of the food sources to get our target animals really hungry. “Basically removing rats and rabbits as the primary food source. “Then it gets our target species, which are the cats and the stoats, hungry and therefore … more controllable. “Removing the prey first. “So it is a different approach, but it’s one that we have a high amount of support from scientists because we need to think outside the box if we’re going to achieve this predator-free 2050 goal.” [Missing Credit]Stoats will be targeted after a new grant to Predator Free Dunedin. Photo: ODT files He said it was about testing new ways, methods and techniques. “We’re being funded to do that with the view that if the learnings and the knowledge developed from what we’re doing over the next three years will be applicable to the rest of the nation.” A team of 12 would be working on the project and they were highly experienced. A new toxin called Papp would be used. It was used in Australia and on Doc land in New Zealand but this would be the first time it would be used on private land. “It’s highly effective in the target of the stoats, but also it has really high animal welfare. So the animal goes unconscious within about 30 seconds and then just quietly dies.” Feral cats would be targeted in the third year of the plan and plenty of communication would go on with domestic cat owners before the elimination of feral cats begun. Predator Free Dunedin Trust chairwoman Sally Peart said the investment was a significant vote of confidence in its role within the national Predator Free 2050 movement. “The Otago Peninsula has shown what long-term commitment, community support and innovation can achieve. “This funding allows us to build on that experience and test how those lessons can be applied across a larger, more complex landscape.” Predator Free Dunedin’s success also relied on long-standing support from local partners, Mr Millar said. They would be seeking an additional $1.4m for the programme from other sources.

Money to find pests in Dunedin to help the rest of the nation

New life among the vines for old library

Heavy snow, severe gales on way for parts of South Island

Beds angled in ED corridors at Christchurch Hospital; plans to pitch tents amid winter surge

Inside Japan's shopping mall disaster

Toasting a hospitality icon