Predator control and the predator-free movement in New Zealand has become a hot topic over the past few years. Here is a brief history of predator control in New Zealand over the past 50 years.
One of the best parts about living in New Zealand is the fact that the country is full of absolutely breathtaking landscapes, from the wild beaches of the west coast, to the North Island’s volcanoes, and the majesty of the southern alps. To an outsider the country may appear to be an green utopia, but anyone that lives here knows the truth. Introduced species have decimated the landscape and wiped out native species. Luckily, huge efforts are underway across the country to rectify some of this by turning the country predator-free. Here is some background on how the country got to the point that the government adopted the goal to be predator-free by 2050.
Introduced Predators Have Decimated Native Species
To begin a discussion on predator control efforts I want to start with a short background to show why it’s important.
New Zealand was one of the last large land masses in the world to be settled by people when the first wakas arrived around 1250. Prior to that point in time the only mammals in the country were three species of bats. The islands were covered in mostly forest and populated by birds, invertebrates, reptiles, and fish. Those native species lived for over 60 million years in isolation and evolved into unique species that live nowhere else on Earth.
Since the arrival of those first settlers around 750 years ago to the large scale immigration of Europeans in the late 1800s people have introduced mammals and other species that didn’t live here previously. Read this for an overview of people in New Zealand. Those introduced species have wrecked havoc on the native species and ecosystems, leading to the extinction of at least 75 species and drastically reduced range of many others. Some of the most harmful predators are rats, possums, and stoats.
Today there are nearly 4,000 native species threatened with extinction. If left unchecked those predators will continue to destroy and wipe out New Zealand’s precious native wildlife.
Early Predator Control Efforts
The first time anyone attempted to remove all the predators from an island happened by a boatload of volunteers in the Hauraki Gulf on Maria/Ruapuke Island. Locals saw firsthand how rats had infested the island and wiped out the birds. The devastation they witnessed led them to take action. In 1960, a small boat that included a local teacher and volunteers from Forest and Bird took out poison and laid the poison baits around the island.
Their efforts were successful and a few years later, in 1964, the island was declared to be rat free. Those volunteers had just eliminated all the rats from that 2 hectare island and started the predator-free movement in New Zealand.
Predator Free Islands
From that tiny island people have worked to remove predators from larger and larger islands. Along the way they learned heaps about the best techniques to remove predators. There are now 110 predator-free islands around New Zealand, including 11,300 hectare Campbell Island. This predator eradication work is done by the government, volunteers, and private companies that develop the new technologies to make it possible.
Here are 6 predator-free islands that can be visited.
Predator Free Eco-Sanctuaries
Removing all the predators from an island is no small endeavour, but islands do have one big advantage when it comes to this type of work. Once the predators are gone the island is generally safe from reinvasion because it’s surrounded by water and reinvasion from the surrounding area is very difficult.
Turning a large area on the main islands of New Zealand predator-free is another thing all together. Initially, several areas on the main land were turned into predator-free eco-sanctuaries thanks to the construction of large predator-proof fences. Those fences were designed to keep new predators from entering into the area where predators had been removed. Predator-free sanctuaries can now be found across the country and here are 5 to visit.
Landscape Scale Predator Control Efforts
Those early efforts to remove predators from a tiny island have now led to the point that large landscape-scale predator control efforts are being undertaken on the main islands without using fences. These efforts are taking predator control to a whole new level.
To be successful at a landscape-scale the area will first require eradicating all the predators. Once that is accomplished, the next step is to work to prevent reinvasion from the surrounding area. As you can see this is a huge challenge.
There are now several large landscape-scale projects underway across the country including Hawkes Bay, Taranaki, Dunedin, Rakiura/Stewart Island, and the Perth Valley in the South-Westland.
Success will require a huge amount of work from government, an army of volunteers, business innovation to develop new technologies, and support from New Zealanders who begin to see trapping as part of their daily life.
Working together it will be possible to remove these predators and protect and restore the country’s precious native species.