National predator-free strategy built on Taranaki experience

Thursday, 12 March 2020

New Plymouth school pupils are supporting the Towards Predator-Free Taranaki project.

A project removing predators from urban, rural and conservation land in Taranaki is leading the way to restore native bush and wildlife across New Zealand.

This week, Environment Minister Eugenie Sage launched a strategy and five-year action plan to rid the country of predators by 2050, building on a goal set by the government in 2016.

The national Predator Free 2050 Strategy strategy follows the success of Towards Predator-Free Taranaki, which the Taranaki Regional Council (TRC) launched in 2018 as the first large-scale project in New Zealand with the long-term goal of removing introduced predators from a region.

Towards Predator-Free Taranaki works closely with rural and urban residents, iwi, community organisations and schools, using innovative tools and methods to eradicate possums, rats and mustelids (stoats, ferrets and weasels) from different landscapes.

TRC operation director Stephen Hall said there were around 13000 traps throughout the region, many maintained by private landowners and volunteers.

Early indications suggested the traps were making real difference, with and increase in sightings of native birds and wildlife in some areas, including tui, kereru, grey faced petrel and the goldstripe gecko, he said.

Kiwi have returned to Pukeiti after 20 years, where there have also been sightings of the North Island Robin – the first in 112 years.

The Restore Kaitake zero possum trial, a joint effort with Taranaki Mounga and the local community, aimed to eradicate possums across 4500 hectares of urban, rural and conservation land.

Hall said the national strategy recognises the importance of educating young people so they carry a passion for their environment into adulthood.

'That's always been the philosophy of Towards Predator-Free Taranaki. We now work with about 60 schools, with students distributing rat traps, checking traps in public parks and helping monitor biodiversity and predators.'

The strategy also stresses that achieving the 2050 target will only happen through a collective effort.

'From day one Towards Predator-Free Taranaki has been about our communities working together towards a common goal,' Halls said.